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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28247283">keep me → the mandalorian ∣∣ din djarin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohballenaohwhale/pseuds/ohballenaohwhale'>ohballenaohwhale</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the mandalorian ☞ din djarin ft. cerelia kenobi &amp; their child, baby yoda ♥ [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Arguing, Bounty Hunters, Din Djarin Removes the Helmet, Din Djarin's Helmet Stays on During Sex, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Helmets, Jedi, Loss of Parent(s), Love/Hate, Mandalorians (Star Wars), Original Female Character - Freeform, Original planet, Reunions, Slow Burn, Unresolved Sexual Tension</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:27:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>47,282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28247283</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohballenaohwhale/pseuds/ohballenaohwhale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>❝ i want to spend 𝑒𝑜𝓃𝓈 with you, din djarin. ❞<br/>[SEASON TWO]</p><p>➳ </p><p>Cerelia, Mando, and Little Bit are back following their run-in with the Imperials on Nevarro. Follow them as they explore through the galaxy, from planet to planet, trying to keep the baby safe and defeat Moff Gideon for good!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), Grogu | Baby Yoda &amp; Original Female Character(s), Luke Skywalker/Original Female Character(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi/Original Female Character(s), The Mandalorian/Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the mandalorian ☞ din djarin ft. cerelia kenobi &amp; their child, baby yoda ♥ [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. spoilers for season 2!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>DO NOT</strong> (and I repeat do not!) READ THIS STORY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED FOR SEASON TWO OF THE MANDALORIAN!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This book is going to be  <em>FILLED</em>  with spoilers for Season Two, considering it is a book about Season Two. Sometimes I don't pay attention to what I am writing and spoil ahead, so if you have not watched EVERY episode of Season Two (or do not wish to be spoiled at all, in general), DO NOT READ!</p><p> </p><p>Sorry, just a preface, but I don't want to ruin Season Two for anyone! So proceed with caution!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>AND <strong><em>ENJOY</em></strong> the rest of your reading experience!!!!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. [9.1]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The girl woke with the Mandalorian's arm wrapped around her middle and the brisk air from his nostrils hitting the top of her head and blowing her hair softly. His grip around her was a strange feeing, being something she wasn't quite used to yet, but she knew it was as unfamiliar to Mando as it was to her.</p><p>They were figuring out the whole kinda-relationship, kinda-too-stubborn-to-call-it-a-relationship relationship thing out.</p><p>She was tempted to resituate her position, but she thought twice about it when she considered that her moving might cause him to panic about seeing his face. Then she considered that her moving might also-</p><p>No. <em>Not in front of the kid. Nope. Don't think about that. </em></p><p>She remained laying how she was, with her legs curled up to her hips, her arms unsure of where to lay or what to do, with a heavy arm dangling across her body.</p><p>To her credit, that wasn't how they had fallen asleep, but it is how they woke up.</p><p>They were cramped in the compact, impossibly small sleeping compartment Mando had made up for them a couple days earlier. It was decorated in soft pillows and blankets he had retrieved for them.</p><p>Although the compartment was small, it could fit her and Mando, admittedly with only a few inches to spare on either side of both of them, and the kid up top.</p><p>The child hung above their heads in his net, snoozing soundly and unbothered.</p><p>She ignored his soft snoring and closed her eyes to go back to sleep once again. She pondered for a moment why he wasn't snoring louder, with his nose having constantly been blocked by the helmet he wore all day every day of his life after childhood.</p><p>Just as soon as she had begun to drift off into the dreamworld she had finally come to enjoy in peace once again, with Mando's arm draped over her comfortably.</p><p>Just as Mando's body heat began to warm her up more and more...</p><p>There was a beeping noise.</p><p>Of course, it had to interrupt just when she was getting comfortable!</p><p>They had made it to the star system he was looking for.</p><p>Mando awoke instantly and began to panic, having been soundly sleeping before he was so rudely awakened by the incessant beeping of the Crest. Instinctively, his first thought was of his face. Without a second thought, he had picked up one of the decorative pillows he had been so interested in getting for her before and covered his face with it.</p><p>She listened to what was going on in disbelief.</p><p>
  <em>The fool was going to suffocate himself just so she couldn't see his face!</em>
</p><p>Not that she was looking. Her eyes were sealed shut and covered by her palms for safe measure.</p><p>If all Mandalorians were this dramatic, she wasn't looking forward to meeting the one they had been searching for.</p><p>She listened as his bare feet stumbled across the middle level of the Crest and various patters and stomps as he rushed up to the cockpit. She couldn't help but laugh out loud at him.</p><p>She looked up to find the child looking curiously between her and the stairs leading to the cockpit, wondering what he had missed.</p><p>Cerelia remained in the nightgown she was wearing, as she crawled out of the small compartment they had been sleeping in.</p><p>Whispering to the kid, she told him that she would be right back.</p><p>She climbed up the stairs to the cockpit and watched as Mando pressed some of the controls on the dash, unaware of her presence. He stood there for a while before turning around.</p><p>He was standing as stiff as a statue.</p><p>"We're-" he began, but his words trailed as he looked her up and down, before quickly clearing his throat and looking away.</p><p>She turned beet red as she understood why he was looking like that. She had worn the gown before since they had got it on their trip. Maybe not in this lighting. Maybe not while they weren't with the kid. "Uh," he attempted again, "We're here."</p><p><em>He's not thinking that. </em>She paused for a moment. He only stared at her. Maybe he was. <em>Right here in the cockpit?</em></p><p>The silence was overwhelming. It had been a while since they were truly alone. They were both inwardly panicking.</p><p>"I'll get dressed." was all she could mutter.</p><p>"Good." he stumbled. He let out an immediate sigh, tempted to tell her that wasn't how he meant it. He didn't want her to get <em>dressed</em> dressed.</p><p>Cerelia gulped, watching the awkwardness in Mando's tension become more and more blatant. This was hard to watch, and even harder to be apart of. They'd have to work on that.</p><p>"Don't forget the wra-"</p><p>"I know." she said as she dipped back down to crawl on the stairs back to the lower level.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>——</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Mandalorian, the Lyrian Princess, and their little green baby roamed the dimly lit sands of the remote planet Mando had been instructed to visit.</p><p>They hadn't even arrived to the main street of the small city, but from what Cerelia could tell, they weren't missing much.</p><p>She had never been to a place with so few streetlights, especially in the dead of night. That immediately told her all she needed to know about the place. That meant they were up to stuff that needed to be hidden by the overbearing darkness of the galaxy.</p><p>Even the stars were afraid to shine on this place.</p><p>It was impossibly dark.</p><p>She kept a close distance between her and Mando, and an even closer distance between her and the kid. She nudged his floating cradle closer to land between the small nook of space between Mando's arm and her shoulder.</p><p>"I'm not liking the look of this place." she whispered in his direction, shuddering lightly at the creepiness of their surroundings and the sudden chills she had gotten as they approached the main street closer.</p><p>"Me neither." Mando admitted casually with no change in his tone and no hesitance in his steady walking.</p><p>She didn't understand this man at all. <em>He makes no sense! </em>She wanted to scream at him. If he was unsure of the mission, why were they walking toward the unmistakable danger instead of sitting comfortably on the Razor Crest?</p><p>He must have immediately noticed the distress exuding from her sudden silence. He took her by the arm and stopped her as she halted with an audible gasp.</p><p>He had certainly got her attention.</p><p>"I'm gonna keep you safe." he affirmed and as she stared up at her reflection in his Beskar helmet, she wanted nothing more than to snatch it off and kiss him where they stood in the pitch black alleyway, in front of the kid and all. Her only thought in that moment was of his soft, awkward lips as he continued.</p><p>"You don't have to worry about that, ever. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you or the kid."</p><p>She turned her body to fully face him with the kid floating closely at their side as she used her other hand to place it over Mando's partially-gloved hand.</p><p>"You can't be sure of that, Mando." she told him as she squeezed his open fingers gently. "No one can."</p><p>"I am." he replied without hesitation.</p><p>There wasn't a stutter in his words as he continued, as if he was speaking from a planned speech. He wasn't; he was speaking from the heart, his purest truth.</p><p>"That's the one thing I'm sure about, Cee. The whole Empire could be in that building and my main priority is still gonna be you and the kid." he finished, and watched as the corners of her mouth lifted as she pressed her lips together before taking her bottom lip between her teeth to hide the wide smile that threatened to break through.</p><p>She grinned up at him, letting go of his hand to gently shove his chest, so as not to hurt him - unlikely - or to hurt herself by hitting the Beskar too hard - very likely.</p><p>"You know just what to say to get a girl to go on a dangerous mission with you." she joked with a flirtatious spring in her voice. "And against her better judgment, too."</p><p>Cerelia could practically hear the smile form on Mando's face underneath her helmet as he spoke.</p><p>"I've had a lot of practice."</p><p>She heard a slight chuckle hidden in his words.</p><p>"Trust me, I know." she said, averting her eyes from him to focus once again on the mission. That man did something to her. She lost all focus when she was around him. She wasn't quite sure yet if that was a good thing or a bad thing.</p><p>"So before we meet this other Mandalorian are you going to be tempted to run off with him and raise a little, green baby?"</p><p>"You're funny." she glared playfully at him.</p><p>"I know." he quipped.</p><p>"I didn't think you even knew what a joke was, buckethead." she tried to keep her expression serious, but couldn't hold in the burst of laughter in her throat. Mando didn't think it was that funny, at least not with the hint of sarcasm in his voice.</p><p>"Funny."</p><p>"I know." she mocked in his deep voice.</p><p>He could only roll his eyes underneath his helmet.</p><p>As they refocused on the mission and continued walking through the shadowy alley, the only light other than the fading street light were what seemed like hundreds of glowing red eyes peeking out from the darkness. Muffled growls followed them through the trail.</p><p>
  <em>If they managed to go so far off the edge of the galaxy that they had found demonic Jawas, she was going to lose it!</em>
</p><p>The only buildings she could make out in the pitch black were covered in graffiti. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the red demon eyes and the wall art.</p><p>She heard Little Bit whimper and she brought him even closer to her, using the Force casually to pull the crib to her side. Her practice had been improving her connection.</p><p>It had been weeks of occasional forced meditation and practicing in the cockpit of the Crest with Little Bit. Mando would put the autopilot flying and watch as Cerelia focused on controlling objects, lifting stuff midair, pushing, and pulling. She included Little Bit by practicing levitating his metal ball he had screed off of one of the control levers of the Crest, and the both of them had cheered and clapped the one time Little Bit had pulled the ball to him and refused to let go.</p><p>His training was over that day, but she kept going.</p><p>Cerelia followed after Mando, stepping where he stepped as he clearly knew where he was going. Meanwhile, she didn't even know the name of the planet they had landed on. All she knew was that she would be happy when they were back safely on the Crest.</p><p>Mando continued walking until they arrived to a building as unrecognizable as the last and just as sketchy.</p><p>In the open doorway of the hundredth gray building covered in graffiti they had passed stood a dark-skinned Twi'lek man. He looked tough, but he didn't look mean. He looked about as happy to be stuck on this planet as she did.</p><p>Mando approached him.</p><p>"I'm here to see Gor Koresh." he told the man.</p><p>The Twi'lek glanced at the child in front of Cerelia. Little Bit cooed up at the man looking down at him, and Cerelia hid the smile that nearly formed on her lips.</p><p>He then glanced at the girl for a moment too long and his brow bone curled as if he was studying her face. She instantly regretted not putting the wrap over her face, instead of just over her hair. Her heart began to race a parsec a second as she was sure her cover had been made. They were screwed.</p><p>She was mere seconds from unleashing the hidden lightsaber at her belt when the doorman stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.</p><p>Her fingers released the weapon as her heart rate dropped and her breath was able to be freed from the confines of her esophagus.</p><p>"Enjoy the fights." the doorman said, and the three of them stepped into the building.</p><p>They quickly arrived to an arena full of various creatures she couldn't begin to name. There was a fighting ring in the middle of the large room and the stands were packed full to the point there were no open seats she could see.</p><p>Cerelia fought her urge to grab onto Mando's cape, like a child would.</p><p>It wasn't her fault she felt safest around him. <em>If it was anyone's fault, it was Mando's!</em></p><p>He walked further down the steps leading to the stands, her following after him and only then paying attention to what was going on in the ring.</p><p>Fighting in the ring were two Gamorreans both wielding vibro-axes and trying to kill the other. Those in the stands cheered them on as if one of their lives wasn't on the line. It was heartless.</p><p>Cerelia just didn't understand it.</p><p>Perhaps it was being raised in the Core Worlds for much of her life that made her only see the negative aspects of some of the activities people in the Outer Rim perceived as entertainment.</p><p>The loud clanging and bright blue glow as the vibrio-axes connected made her whole body cringe, and she tried to take her focus off of the ring. The clanking noises sent a chill up her spin and a flurry of memories to her mind.</p><p>The cheering of the crowd and the shiny exterior of Mando's armor brought her back quickly.</p><p>They shouted in languages that Cerelia didn't recognize. The building was full of a number of species and she began to wonder where they were going, who they were meeting, and how the hell they were going to get out of there with so many strangers around if things went wrong.</p><p>Cerelia brought the baby as close to her as she could with her hand holding on to the front of his crib instead of using the Force like she had earlier. <em>That wasn't safe here. At least, not at this moment.</em></p><p>Mando approached a green Abyssin man who Cerelia only assumed could be the Gor Koresh he had been searching for in this forsakened star system.</p><p>There was one open seat to the right of the man.</p><p>Mando stood casually in front of the man before sitting in the chair.</p><p>"Take a seat, dear." the Abyssin man said.</p><p>Before Cerelia could open her mouth to even offer to remain standing, Mando had taken her by surprise. He grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her to him. His other hand took her by the waist and plopped her down onto his lap.</p><p>The tough steel on her bottom didn't shock her half as much as the fact that it was Mando who had done it.</p><p>She shifted on his cold lap, thankful for the thick material of the pants she wore. She could feel his legs beneath her, covered by his Beskar armor. Plagued by her own sudden emotions, she wondered what he was feeling.</p><p>Was he feeling discomfort by her added weight sitting on his armored lap? Was the Beskar digging into his thighs?</p><p>Was it as nice for him as if was feeling for her?</p><p>All of those thoughts left her mind at the speed of light as his ungloved fingers wrapped possessively, protectively, tightly around the left side of her hip and squeezed. The heat of her clothed flesh burned like fire at his touch.</p><p>She wiggled softly at the sudden melting sensation in her core. It was like molten lava had been poured all over her body.</p><p>She was interrupted by the start of their conversation while she tried to steady her breathing again.</p><p>"You know this is no place for a child." the man told Mando without taking his eyes off of the Gamorrean competitors in the ring. "Or a woman."</p><p>She was mostly glad he hadn't said "Princess" instead of "woman", but he hadn't looked at her closely enough to observe the features of her face, let alone wonder what color her hair was underneath the wraps or if a crown sat atop her covered head.</p><p>"Wherever I go, they go." Mando informed.</p><p>Gor Koresh chuckled. "So I've heard."</p><p>The Gamorreans continued to swing the vibro-axes at one another and the crowd cheered in anticipation of the finale.</p><p>"I've been quested to bring him to his kind." Mando told the man, gesturing toward the kid in his cradle. Cerelia glanced over to Little Bit and watched as his big eyes followed the fighting in the middle of the room, with a mixture of curiosity and excitement.</p><p>Mando continued, "If I can locate other Mandalorians, they can help guide me. I'm told you know where to find them."</p><p>He leaned forward to look at the man with both of his hands holding her steady at her hips.</p><p>"It's uncouth to talk business immediately. Just enjoy the entertainment." Koresh gestured toward the ring.</p><p><em>I don't find watching two chained Gamorreans try to kill each other or the pleasure of an audience to be very entertaining</em>, Cerelia wanted to tell the man but she kept her mouth shut.</p><p>Still, their attention turned to the loud clanging of the weapons in the fight in front of them.</p><p>One of the fighters swung especially hard at the other, knocking him to the ground. The crowd shouted various sounds of approval and disgust, depending solely on which fighter they had placed their bets on.</p><p>Koresh let out a grunt of disapproval. He had apparently chosen the wrong one. "My Gamorrean's not doing well. Kill him! Finish him!"</p><p>The sheer disregard for the lives of the beings before him made Cerelia sick to her stomach.</p><p>The standing Gamorrean slammed his weapon toward his inured opponent who rolled away just in time to avoid certain death. The crowd groaned in disappointment.</p><p><em>When we get off of this planet, we're never coming this cheap into the Outer Rim again! </em>Cerelia sat disgusted with the negative energy of the arena.</p><p>Little Bit whined at the brutality of the fight in the ring and she reached out to gently rub his ear to soothe him. He instantly calmed and closed his eyes in comfort.</p><p>"Do you gamble, Mando?" the man asked.</p><p>"Not unless he has to." Cerelia answered for him, glancing over to look at the Abyssin man, not bothering to hide her disdain from the organization he was running.</p><p>Gor Koresh chuckled at her and she didn't feel any sense that his gesture was genuine. He didn't seem like an upstanding man in the slightest regard.</p><p>Maybe she was being unreasonable, but she didn't think so.</p><p>"Well, I'll bet you the information you seek that this Gamorrean's gonna die within the next minute and a half."</p><p>"You're willing to gamble with someone's life twice?" Cerelia questioned the man, then her eyebrows jumbled with curiosity as she realized the weight of his bargain was off balance. "What's in it for you?"</p><p>"Well," Gor Koresh began. "All you two have to put up in exchange is his shiny Beskar armor."</p><p>Now it was time for Cerelia to let out a chuckle of her own.</p><p>"And you think your information is worth such a price... why?" she questioned the man.</p><p>"I only gamble when I know I can win." the Abyssin told her. Her glare returned. She didn't care anymore what the man thought of her.</p><p>The whole place was sketchy, and he was the center of it all.</p><p>"I'm prepared to pay you for the information." Mando told him, but Cerelia could already see that wasn't what the man was interested in. She could practically smell the greed exuding off the man. He wanted the prestige of stealing the Beskar armor Mando was wearing. Her fingertips rested over the Bronzesaber in her holster, and she was ready to ignite it. "I'm not leaving my fate up to chance."</p><p>"Nor am I."</p><p>She watched as Gor Koresh aimed his blaster at the standing Gamorrean in the ring, and shot him. In an instant, all of the blasters in the room were aimed on her and Mando.</p><p>Suddenly, all she could hear was an unbearably loud whistling noise that made her shriek and cover her ears. Had her eyes been open instead of tightly shut, she would have seen that it was only affecting her.</p><p>Damn it.</p><p><em>Angel Tears.</em> She had forgotten about that device.</p><p>They had been expecting her.</p><p>They likely knew who she was as soon as Mando had contacted them and agreed to make passage to this star system.</p><p>She heard as Mando's whistling birds shot out of his wrist, and the various noises made her mind nearly implode.</p><p>She fell to her knees with her hands wrapped over her ears before considering that they had taken her out for a reason. She quickly looked up and took hold of the kid's cradle with the Force and pushed it away from where the remaining Gamorrean attempted to jump down from the ring onto to the pod.</p><p>He fell with a thud beside Cerelia and she got up to one knee and let out a frustrated grunt.</p><p>She wasn't going to be able to do much with that stupid device on.</p><p>She had to locate it.</p><p>She made sure Mando was taking care of business, which he was - taking out several guys on his own with ease - and making sure the kid was okay, which he was, before closing her eyes once again, and focusing on where the overwhelming whistling noise was coming from.</p><p>The last time she had come in contact with an Angel Tears device was one of the first years of her escape. That was when her bounty was the highest, other than now being on the run with Mando and the kid, and every hunter in the galaxy was after her. A couple of them had a device of their own handy.</p><p>She knew Angel Tears affected a few species more than just the pure-blooded Lyrians, but she had failed to ever notice anyone but her ever feel the agony of its sounds.</p><p>Her mother had informed her of them, having suffered from a few shockwaves of her own back in The Clone Wars, but Cerelia had been lucky enough to never have a run-in with one of them during her time on Lysaria so she had figured one of two options had to be true: her mother was lying and trying to make her more careful when she was out on a mission, or all the ones left in the galaxy had been destroyed after so many years.</p><p>Neither was true.</p><p>All she could do was try to focus on the outside, try to shut it out.</p><p>What would her mother do? What would her sister do?</p><p>She thought about one of the methods of meditation Maggy had shown her once. She said she had met someone once who practiced the method religiously. Perhaps it would save her now.</p><p>The words came off her tongue softly, and she could hear the Angel Tears fading away.</p><p>"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."</p><p>Softer.</p><p>"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."</p><p>It was fading.</p><p>"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."</p><p>The whistling remained, but it was a distant whisper as everything around her became clear.</p><p>She looked up to see Mando sling one of his knives into a Zabrak man's chest and he fell to the ground, dead. Cerelia located the baby's cradle, pulling it to her with the Force as Mando rushed out of the arena and chased after Gor Koresh who had fled the building.</p><p>She went after him, along with the kid, and watched as Mando shot out his grappling hook and caught the Abyssin by the legs.</p><p>The man yelped loudly as Mando pulled him back toward him.</p><p>He slung the rope over one of the few street lights hanging overhead and pulled tightly, lifting the man into the air upside down. The man began to panic as Mando stood in front of him and Cerelia and the child approached from behind.</p><p>"All right, stop!" he shouted, helplessly. "Stop! I'll tell you where he is. But you must give me your word that you won't kill me."</p><p>"No." Cerelia told him blatantly, but Mando interrupted her.</p><p>"I promise you will not die by my hand." Mando told the man. <em>Oh, he wanted her to do it? </em>Cerelia readied her hand on the Bronzesaber, waiting for the man to share his information. "Now, where is the Mandalorian you know of?"</p><p>Gor Koresh groaned irritatingly, drawn out before muttering his intel. "Tatooine."</p><p>"What did he say?" Cerelia asked, praying to each star in the galaxy that he didn't say what she thought he just said.</p><p>"What?" Mando asked him to repeat himself. Cerelia groaned before the man even spoke, knowing it was too good to be true that the Mandalorian they were looking for was waiting for them on a planet of paradise.</p><p>"The Mando I know of is on Tatooine."</p><p><em>You've gotta be kidding me</em>, Cerelia cursed in her mind. <em>Does every little thing in the kriffing galaxy have to on Tatooine?</em></p><p>"I've spent much time on Tatooine." Mando told the man. Maybe he was lying! Maybe he had gotten his planets mixed up! "I've never seen a Mandalorian there."</p><p>"My information is good, I tell you. The city of Mos Pelgo. I swear it by the Gotra!" Gor Koresh groaned.</p><p>"Tatooine it is, then." Mando spoke as he began to walk away from the man. Cerelia followed after him and the kid followed after her. The Abyssin remained hanging by the street light, begging for Mando to come back.</p><p>"Wait, Mando! You can't leave me like this! Cut me down!"</p><p>"That wasn't part of the deal." Mando said.</p><p>"Tell your Gamorreans I said hi." Cerelia told him as they walked away, busting the few street lights that remained in the abandoned town, leaving the Abyssin man for dead.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—-</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Razor Crest approached Tatooine and Cerelia couldn't help but notice that the planet looking as bland as it did from space than it did on land.</p><p>They soared through the air, roaming above the endless landscapes of sand and rock.</p><p>For a second, she thought it looked appealing. It didn't look so bad.</p><p>But still, it was far too sandy and far too repetitive.</p><p>It might be a nice place to make a home.</p><p>When they made it to Mos Eisley, Mando lowered the ship to the last town they had been on Tatooine and the town had the only person they knew on Tatooine.</p><p>Peli Motto.</p><p>Mando lowered the Razor Crest down at the hangar bay.</p><p>As he stood up from the pilot's seat, Cerelia picked up the wrap she had taken off when they had boarded the ship after their meeting with Gor Koresh.</p><p>She lifted up her hair with one hand and placed the wrap underneath the back of her neck, pulling both sides of the wrap up over her hair.</p><p>She glanced up to find Mando watching her intently.</p><p>Her bright eyes rested on his helmeted face as she questioned, "Is there something wrong?"</p><p>Mando hesitated before speaking, "Let me."</p><p>Cerelia instantly smiled at him. "I knew you liked doing it, you big softie!"</p><p>Mando sighed, as if waiting for her to finish.</p><p>Her flushed red cheeks puffed as she was trying to contain the grin she was holding in from his reaction.</p><p>"Go ahead." she told him. Mando knelt down on one knee in front of her.</p><p>He grabbed both sides of the wrap, one in each hand and he twisted both smoothly over her hair until it was tight.</p><p>"Is that okay, or is it hurting you?" he asked before he finished.</p><p>"No," she assured him with an expression neither he or she could understand. It was a feeling unfamiliar to both of them, at least before they had met one another. She was mesmerized by him. "It's perfect."</p><p>
  <em>Can this man do anything wrong?</em>
</p><p>He finished wrapping and tied the cloth so it would stay in place.</p><p>They stayed like that for just a moment longer than necessary and, unsure of where they would go from here, Cerelia held out her arms up at him.</p><p>Mando stood up from his knees, grabbing both of her arms and pulling her to her feet and she stood in front of him.</p><p>Her face was aimed at his chest until she cleaned her neck up to look at him. Or at his helmet.</p><p>She was tempted to place her hands on his helmet and pull it off, as Omera once attempted to do.</p><p><em>No,</em> she told herself. <em>Not unless he wants me to.</em></p><p>She had to say something before she made any impulsive moves.</p><p>"When this mission is over, can we please never come back to Tatooine?" she asked him.</p><p>"We've been to worse planets." he pointed out.</p><p>"Can we never go back to those planets either?"</p><p>"Okay," he agreed. "Where would we go?"</p><p>"Sorgan, maybe. Back to Lysaria. Maybe a planet of our own." Cerelia pondered. They could be happy. Anywhere, if they wanted. If they could just escape all the bounties and all the missions, and leave the rest of the galaxy alone. It could work out.</p><p>"That doesn't sound so bad." Mando smirked underneath his helmet.</p><p>His hands had found the small of her back and air caught tightly in her chest and she tried not to breath unevenly where he could hear how he quite literally took her breath away.</p><p>He knows what he's doing.</p><p>
  <em>He's gotta be teasing me.</em>
</p><p>He inched her closer to him, as if that was possible.</p><p>
  <em>No, he's taunting me.</em>
</p><p>He was wising up to her desires, and apparently, his own.</p><p><em>Okay</em>, she thought. <em>Two can play at this game. </em></p><p>She lifted her arm up to wrap around his bicep as best she could, squeezing enough for him to feel it underneath the Beskar. She used her grip to ease up onto her tiptoes and lean up toward his helmet, almost resting her head on his shoulder.</p><p>"What happens on Tatooine, stays on Tatooine." she whispered, toward his ear.</p><p>She separated from his grip and whipped around as she picked up the kid from where he was resting on his seat, placing him into the cradle and making her way down the stairs from the cockpit, leaving Mando standing there in disbelief.</p><p>They made their way down on the open hangar, where Peli Motto stood waiting for them with her three mechanic droids. She told them to get away from the Crest, knowing how Mando felt about droids.</p><p>"You two?" Peli greeted. "Come to invite me to the wedding?"</p><p>"I-"</p><p>"Uh-"</p><p>The two of them stuttered, suddenly unable to form coherent thoughts or sentences.</p><p>"Relax, I'm just busting your choobies!" Peli Motto exclaimed. "Need another fix? What other services do you need of me? Paid, of course! And a hefty sum, too! I'm twice as reliable? as any repairmen on Coruscant."</p><p>"Are there even still any repairmen on Coruscant?" Cerelia questioned.</p><p>Peli pondered for a moment, then shrugged it off. "I didn't lie, did I?"</p><p>"Not really." Mando muttered.</p><p>"About that wedding. If you think I look good now, just wait til I'm not in these-" Peli began, but Mando cut her off.</p><p>"We need help finding a city."</p><p>"Ugh, you two." she groaned, as she walked over toward her office area. "Always a bore. Always on a mission. Do you ever have time off? What do you even do in your free time? Oh, I bet I can take a couple guess-"</p><p>"Mos Pelgo!" Cerelia blurted, wanting to get to the city as quickly as possible. More importantly, away from Peli and her unmistakably big mouth.</p><p>"Do you know where it is?" Mando asked her. "It's not on any of the maps.</p><p>"Sure." she told him. "That's 'cause it was wiped out by bandits. Once the Empire fell, it was a free-for-all. I didn't dare leave the city walls. Still don't."</p><p>"Where did it used to be?" Cerelia asked her.</p><p>She then called over her R5 droid who showed that the city had been apparently blown off the map.</p><p>"This is a map of Tatooine before the war. You got Mos Eisley, Mos Espa, and up around this region, Mos Pelgo." she showed. There was an open spot where she pointed. It wasn't a good sign.</p><p>Maybe Mos Pelgo was imaginary. Maybe it was the best place in the whole galaxy. Cerelia thought she wouldn't mind that at all.</p><p>"I don't see anything."</p><p>"There's nothing there."</p><p>Mando and Cerelia spoke at the same time.</p><p>"Well, it's there. Or at least it used to be." Peli told them. "Not much to speak of. It's an old mining settlement. They're gonna see that big hunk o' metal long before you land."</p><p>"You still have that speeder bike?" Mando questioned.</p><p>"Sure do." she nodded. "It's a little rusty, but I got it." Rust was the least of their worries.</p><p>She went to retrieve the speeder but stopped when was distracted by her own thoughts.</p><p>"Oh! That reminds me!" she recalled. "A woman came by here looking for you two."</p><p>"A woman?" Cerelia's eyebrows furrowed. "What did she look like?"</p><p>"Dark hair, dark eyes, mysterious." Peli stated in a sarcastic tone and Cerelia fought the urge to glare at the woman. "I don't know, I didn't get a good look."</p><p>"You said she talked to you." Cerelia pointed out. The woman only looked at her with a shrug. She rolled her eyes quickly before continuing, "She didn't tell you her name?"</p><p>"Do they ever?" Peli said. She had a point.</p><p>"It's gotta be Maggy." Cerelia told Mando. He nodded in agreement.</p><p>"Do you know where she went?" Mando asked her.</p><p>"Not sure. She didn't say much other than asking if I had seen a Mandalorian and a pretty girl and a little green thing. I thought that matched you guys pretty well." the tiny woman stated, sarcastically.</p><p>"You think?" Cerelia retorted. "Great work, Peli."</p><p>"I try."</p><p>"Okay, well, just let us know if she comes back here while we're gone." Mando told her as he prepared the speeder bike.</p><p>"Anything else? You want me to capture her and chain her up here? Fix your ship again? Is that all you need?" Peli continued. She was getting funnier, actually. She was beginning to like the woman. Cerelia liked the banter back and forth. She didn't get enough of it when Mando was acting like a scrooge.</p><p>"That's generous, but I think we're good." Cerelia assured, with the same tone of sarcasm in her voice.</p><p>Peli sent them off with a wave.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—-</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The trio rushed on the speeder bike on the empty hills of the desert of Tatooine. As if the planet could get more remote, they had been tasked to find the smallest, unknown mining settlement in all of the galaxy, let alone the Outer Rim.</p><p>She wondered why in the galaxy Maggy would have tracked them to Tatooine. </p><p>She shoved the thought from her mind, as she only focused on the man whose steel back her chest was rested on.</p><p>Cerelia hugged as tight as she could around Mando's broad, armor-clad middle and the kid sat directly beside her in the item compartment on the side of the speeder. His ears flew back with both the velocity of the wind hitting their faces and the sheer excitement of his little joyride. Cerelia wondered for a moment if he had figured out what these missions were for, or if he was just along for the ride.</p><p>She loved that innocence about him, making the most out of every situation they became stuck in. It reminded her of how blind she had been to how serious the threat of the Empire was.</p><p>She didn't want to consider that her parents had done the wrong thing in shielding her from the danger of the galaxy. Instead, she let her mind focus on the emptiness of the dry desert around them. It was easy to get lost in, in both mind and body.</p><p>Cerelia squeezed Mando tighter as Little Bit squealed happily with a big smile on his face as they traveled. The Clan of Three rode for hours, passed mountains and Tusken raider settlements alike, as they tried to locate the mysterious Mandalorian they had traveled across the galaxy to find.</p><p>If he was anything like Mando was in the beginning, they would be in for a long mission, after all.</p><p>Eventually, they came upon the only settlement for a hundred miles. It was a small, as she assumed it would be. It looked like most of the towns in Tatooine, with rounded buildings and a condensed street area.</p><p>As they approached the colorless town, the few citizens outside of the buildings all had their eyes on them. The narrowed, unwelcoming stares stayed on them until Mando stopped in front of the only building around with an open door, which was presumably a cantina.</p><p>Good, I could use a drink, Cerelia thought, partially because she was nearly dying of thirst after their travels across the vast desert planet and partially because this mission was seeming more difficult by the second. Although Mando had offered her and the child all the water he had, all three of them were nearing dehydration.</p><p>The stares continued, even after they had stopped. If the people in this town were half as unfriendly as they looked, it would be a short stay for them.</p><p>Mando got off the speeder first, subconsciously extending his hand out to help her off without a second thought. It was muscle memory, at this point. She wanted to remind him that she could get off of a speeder by herself, especially while they were being glared at by townsfolk, but she didn't mind this more gentlemanly side of him. It made her cheeks flush and her insides flutter with a comforting warmth.</p><p>Cerelia lifted Little Bit into her arms and looked to find that Mando was waiting for the both of them at the entrance of the cantina. When he walked into the bar, she was right behind him, a familiar image, as it been for a long time now. They had met in one, after all.</p><p>The place was empty, aside from the Weequay bartender who was mixing something up in a cup. When he noticed their presence, his eyes narrowed in a mixture of curiosity and fear, directed at Mando.</p><p>If she hadn't had a sack over her head when he had entered the cantina back on the ice planet where he had captured her, she might have been scared of his appearance too.</p><p>He was a tall, imposing figure clad in fairly-rare Mandalorian armor; and unlike most of the others of his kind, he wasn't in hiding.</p><p>She wasn't sure if that made him stupid or rebellious, or simply unafraid, but the thought of him being the bravest man of his kind made her flustered.</p><p>"Can I help you?" the bartender asked as Mando approached him.</p><p>"I'm looking for a Mandalorian." Mando told him.</p><p>"Well, we don't get many visitors in these parts." the man told Mando. <em>That much was obvious</em>, Cerelia thought. This place was like a ghost town. The bartender continued, "Can you describe him?"</p><p>Cerelia nearly choked at his question. Even if Mos Pelgo was in the very middle of the middle of nowhere, surely, he still knew what a Mandalorian looked like. There was one standing right in front of him!</p><p>Even though she couldn't see Mando's expression behind his helmet, she could sense in his hesitance that he was trying not to get frustrated.</p><p>"Someone who looks like me." he clarified, blatantly, with a slight annoyance in his tone.</p><p>"You mean the Marshal?" the man asked.</p><p>"Your Marshal wears Mandalorian armor?" Mando questioned. <em>Marshal?</em> Cerelia wondered. <em>A Mandalorian Sheriff?</em> That sounded terrifying. <em>Being handcuffed by a Mandalorian...</em> Okay, she was getting off track.</p><p>The bartender glanced over toward the entrance of the bar and let out a grunt.</p><p>"See for yourself."</p><p>Both Cerelia and Mando turned quickly to see who was standing in the doorway of the cantina. She automatically noted that although the man standing in front of them was technically wearing Mandalorian armor, he looked about as much Mandalorian as she looked like a Hutt.</p><p>The man didn't fill out the armor that looked slightly too big for him. The armor looked incomplete, like it wasn't with its rightful owner. <em>Like this man had stolen it. </em></p><p>Instinctively, Cerelia lightly took hold of Mando's left forearm and quickly released, warning him to be cautious.</p><p>The man stepped forward slowly with a surprisingly relaxed stance, although Cerelia's eyes were trained on his open right hand ready to reach for the blaster on his belt.</p><p><em>If a standoff is what he wants, a standoff is what he'll get, </em>Cerelia thought.</p><p>Her own hand settled over the cold hilt of the lightsaber on her belt.</p><p>"What brings you here, stranger?" the Marshal asked with a twang in his accent that certainly fit the voice of a Sheriff in a town this rural.</p><p>"I've been searching for you for many parsecs." Mando told him, honestly. Maybe he had sensed the same slight lack of intimidation that she had felt when the man first entered. He didn't seem as threatening and his tone didn't seem as unfriendly as all the other Mandalorians Cerelia had ever met.</p><p>"Well, now, you found me." the Marshal congratulated. He stepped toward the bar with no bad intentions evident in his body language.</p><p>He pointed toward the bartender and ordered, "Weequay, two snorts of spotchka."</p><p>The bartender put the large canister full of the bright blue liquid on the table and set out two cups. Cerelia had hoped for something a little stronger, but this would have to do for now.</p><p>The Marshal grabbed the container and both glasses as she began to walk over toward the seats. "Why don't you join me for a drink?"</p><p>Why had he only gotten two cups if he intended on drinking too? Maybe he figured the two of them would share, but it was a strange assumption.</p><p>Mando watched curiously as the man turned his back on him with both hands full. That usually meant one of three things: (1) he was harmless, (2) he was trying to make them believe he wasn't a threat before he made his move, or (3) he was simply crazy. Cerelia had yet to figure out which one, and she was sure Mando hadn't either.</p><p>He stood observing the man as he made his way toward the table and sat down. He stepped closer and Cerelia remained with the kid in her left arm, watching curiously while snuggled to her chest, and the hilt of her lightsaber in her right hand at her holster.</p><p>Cerelia could almost feel the wave of shock radiating off of Mando as the man reached up to his helmet and casually pulled it off, setting it down on the table in front of him.</p><p>Mando's stance stiffened and a noticeable anger washed over him as he presumably realized what must have been the reason for him taking it off. He wasn't a Mandalorian, and that meant the armor didn't belong to him.</p><p>The faded red and green helmet sat still on the table. Cerelia nearly gasped at how handsome the man was underneath. <em>Not the time, Cerelia! This man is a threat!</em> she reminded herself.</p><p>She glared at the man.</p><p>"I've never met a real Mandalorian." the man said and chuckled at the obvious sudden fury written all over Mando's tension.</p><p>"Well, congratulations." Cerelia said, coldly. "Now, you have."</p><p>"Heard stories," the man continued, not giving any attention to what she had said. He shook his head as he began to pour his drink. "I know you're good at killing. And probably none too happy to see me wearing this hardware. So," he let out a slight, shaky breath but hid it well as he continued, "I figure only one of us is walking out of here."</p><p>His breathing calmed fully and he smiled as he gestured beside Mando, toward Cerelia and the baby.</p><p>"But then I see the kids with you," he said, and Little Bit's ears perked up curiously, as if he had understood what the man had said, "And, I think, maybe I pegged you wrong."</p><p>Cerelia had initially been surprised at the sudden sense that the man didn't want to fight them, and only then began to process what she had heard. She nearly scoffed out loud. <em>Hold on now! This man has got to be kidding!</em></p><p>"Kids?" she nearly screeched, not bothering to shield the appalled gasp in her throat. "As in plural?"</p><p>When the man only stared at her, she continued.</p><p>"I am a grown woman! And a dangerous one at that!" she tried to keep her voice down. Mando eased closer to her and put his arm out to lightly push her back, like calming a beast.</p><p>"Don't mind her." Mando told him, as he released her. She huffed as she looked up at the man beside her as he continued. "She's got a lot of built up anger for her age."</p><p>She gave him a death glare and made sure he seen it as he glanced over at her, then back at the man.</p><p>"I'm sorry, little lady." he began but instantly corrected himself when Cerelia's eyes squinted into a steady glare. "Sorry, ma'am. You look young and you're as short as a Jawa. That was a joke. You're clearly taller than a Jawa. Well, can you blame me? After all, I can only see your eyes!"</p><p>"Hey, let's not get into size, old man! You're not exactly filling that armor out! It looks two sizes too big for you!" Cerelia yelled and Mando held her back. Her temper was three times her size.</p><p>"This armor-" the man began, but she wasn't done.</p><p>"And have you ever thought of a paint job? That armor looks fifty years old, and not the good kind of fifty years old!"</p><p>"Cerelia!" Mando shouted in the lowest tone he could achieve, gentle but stern. "Let it go!"</p><p>He shifted his attention back to the man.</p><p>"Who are you?" Mando asked him.</p><p>The man poured some spotchka into his own cup. "I'm Cobb Vanth, Marshal of Mos Pelgo."</p><p>"Where did you get the armor?" Mando asked, not as patient with that question than he was with the first. He was getting angry.</p><p>"Bought it off some Jawas." Cobb Vanth said simply as he took a sip of his drink.</p><p>"Hand it over." Mando ordered.</p><p>The man let out a chuckle and put down the cup in his hand onto the table in front of him.</p><p>"Look, pal," Vanth said, smugly. "I'm sure you call the shots where you come from, but 'round here, I'm the one tells folks what to do."</p><p>Mando stepped closer to the man, unfazed by his words. "Take it off."</p><p>Cerelia's eyes widened slowly, although no one else could see her.</p><p>"Or I will." Mando threatened with ease. As her mind began to process the words he had spoken and the tone of his voice, a flame of bursting fire began to form in the deepest pit of her stomach.</p><p>"We gonna do this in front of the kid?"</p><p><em>Yeah, you better get it right! </em>Cerelia internally yelled at the man. She kept her glare on him as she crossed her arms over her chest, intimidatingly.</p><p>"He's seen worse."</p><p>"Right here, then?" Vanth questioned. Cerelia sensed by the hesitance in his words that he wasn't what they had originally thought. He didn't seem like he wanted to fight.</p><p>"Right here." Mando said.</p><p>Cobb Vanth stood slowly from his seat and put his hand over his blaster. Mando stood across from him, and the both of them waited for the other to make the first move.</p><p>This was an unnecessary standoff.</p><p>The Marshal clearly didn't want any trouble, and Mando was understandably mad that he was wearing armor when he wasn't a Mandalorian, but no one needed to die over such a small violation of code.</p><p>She nearly grabbed Mando's arm to stop him, but before she was able to, the entire cantina began to rumble loudly.</p><p>Cobb Vanth held up a finger to Mando, telling him to wait.</p><p>Mando moved over to her and helped her balance. The kid had hidden in the pot he had been playing in. When she got her footing and stopped stumbling as the ground shook, the two of them made their way over toward the open doorway of the cantina.</p><p>An alarm sounded across the town. She could hear people rushing to get off of the sands and banthas groaning from where they stood in the open.</p><p>The ground along the street was beginning to glide like a wave, like the ones she had seen on the ocean planets she had been on briefly.</p><p>The only bantha in their sights continued grunting, impending its own sudden doom. Cerelia's mouth could only drop open with wide eyes as they watched a massive creature she could have never imagined jumped out from the sands below and swallowed the large bantha whole.</p><p>"Maybe we can work something out."</p><p><em>They should have never come back to Tatooine, </em>Cerelia groaned.</p><p>"That creatures's been terrorizing these parts since long before Mos Pelgo was established. Thanks to this armor, I've been able to protect this town from bandits and Sand People. They look to me to protect 'em. But a Krayt Dragon is too much for me to take on alone. Help me kill it, I'll give you the armor."</p><p>"Sounds good to me." Cerelia said. <em>The sooner they got off of Tatooine, the better.</em> She looked over to find Mando and Vanth staring at her.</p><p>"Oh," she realized, gesturing towards herself then Mando. "It sounds good to both of us."</p><p>"Fine. Deal." Mando agreed. "I'll ride back to the ship, blow it out of the sand from the sky, use the Bantha as bait."</p><p>"Not so simple." Vanth interrupted.</p><p>"It never is." Cerelia muttered, just waiting for whatever the man was going to say. They could never just have an easy mission.</p><p>"The ship passes above, it senses the vibrations, stays underground. But I know where it lives."</p><p>"How far?" Mando questioned.</p><p>"Not far." Vanth responded.</p><p><em>Here we go again</em>, Cerelia thought.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—-</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mando and Cerelia rode out of Mos Pelgo the same way they had rode into it, with her arms wrapped around him and Little Bit riding excitedly at their side.</p><p>They rode beside Cobb Vanth, who was piloting some sort of contraption that looked like it was thrown together with spare parts. Still, as long as they made it to their destination and back, it didn't much matter what rustbuckets they were on.</p><p>A mixture of steamy smoke and sandy winds came from the front of the transports as they rode.</p><p>"You don't understand what it was like." Cobb Vanth said with a smile as he rode the plains with ease. It was obvious he had been in Mos Pelgo for a long time. It had likely been his home for his entire life. He might have even been born there.</p><p>His hair blew in the wind, and Cerelia found herself enjoying the contrast of his graying hair compared to the sandy yellow color of the desert.</p><p>If Mando looked half as good as this man, she had lucked up.</p><p>If Mando would ever take off his helmet..</p><p>"The town was on its last legs. It started after we got the news of the Death Star blowing up." he explained as he glanced toward her and Mando on the speeder.</p><p>His gaze was a combination of green and hazel staring into her soul. Even his eyes were mesmerizing.. <em>Okay, no! Focus! You are literally holding onto Mando, Cerelia! Get it together!</em></p><p>She had remember one of the last times she had seen her sister. Nadi had been recounting watching Luke Skywalker destroy the Death Star on her expedition with the Rebels, and she had told the story with as many embellishments as she had told every other story before then.</p><p>Her arms were flailing with descriptives as she made gestures to further explain what had happened to Cerelia. She even sounded out the explosion with blubbered lips and stretched out arms.</p><p>Her eyes were bright and wide as she described the incident. Cerelia wondered now if she seemed that captivated by Luke Skywalker's brave actions, or by the boy himself.</p><p>Cerelia had met him one time, after Nadi introduced the two of them when the Rebels were stationed briefly on Lysaria. He seemed nice, and he was cute too.</p><p>Maybe all of what Gideon had said was a lie, after all. Maybe her sister was happy and safe and Mrs. Nadi Skywalker by now.</p><p>At least Cerelia hoped so. She considered her wishful thinking to be reality until proven otherwise.</p><p>It was easier that way.</p><p>"The second one, that is." Cobb Vanth continued. Cerelia listed in awe of what information she had missed. She hadn't even known there was a second Death Star to blow up. Years of hiding meant not hearing every essential bit of news in the galaxy.</p><p>He began his story.</p><p>"The Empire was pullin' outta Tatooine. There was blaster fire over Mos Eisley. The occupation was over. We didn't even have time to celebrate." he explained. That was often how it was. As soon as one bad thing is over, another comes to take its place.</p><p>"That very night, the Mining Collective moved in. Power hates a vacuum, and Mos Pelgo became a slave camp overnight."</p><p>She thought of her citizens, the people of Lysaria, sent to be slaves for the Empire. Those that weren't slaughtered from the start, that is.</p><p>She wasn't sure who was luckier.</p><p>"I lit out. Took what I could from the invaders." he continued. She didn't even have time to grab anything. She was shoved into a gunship and taken away before she could be captured. Her people had done right by her, but she had left them to die.</p><p>"Grabbed a camtono. I had no idea it was full of silicax crystals. I guess every once in a while, both suns shine on a womp rat's tail." Vanth smirked brightly at them as he joked, but Cerelia couldn't even process the man's handsome smile. All she could think about was the past. Her mistakes. What she could have done. What she <em>should</em> have done.</p><p>"I wandered for days. No food, no water. And then," he continued. "I was saved. The Jawas wanted the crystals. They offered their finest in exchange. And my treasure bought me more than a full waterskin. It bought my freedom."</p><p>His situation was similar to her own. She had been alone. The only thing she was thankful for not being similar was that she had luckily not been picked up by a group of Jawas.</p><p>That didn't sound fun at all. More thrilling than wandering the planets she had found herself on, scavenging for food and shelter, maybe.</p><p>They had both been lost and vulnerable, and they had both been saved in their own ways. Cobb Vanth had found an old suit of Mandalorian armor, and an armored Mandalorian had found her.</p><p>And the galaxy had somehow brought them all together. It had to be for a better reason.</p><p>Maybe they were meant to kill this Krayt Dragon for the citizens of Mos Pelgo. Maybe, just maybe, this was a sign that Tatooine wasn't so bad.</p><p>It could be a home.</p><p>
  <b>—</b>
</p><p>The four of them rode through the very repetitive plains of the otherwise boring desert planet that everything in the galaxy seemed to revolve around.</p><p>
  <em>For Force sakes, everything seemed to happen on Tatooine. It was where Anakin Skywalker was born. It was where her father took all of his mysterious missions. It was where they had met Calican and the mercenary Fennec Shand. And now, it was where Gor Koresh had led them to the Marshal wearing stolen Mandalorian armor, Cobb Vanth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Well, not stolen. Borrowed, kinda. Who knows where the real owner of the armor is?</em>
</p><p>Cerelia had never been more tired of a planet in her whole life.</p><p>They approached a small canyon with a clearing surrounded by large rocks and, surprisingly, even more sand.</p><p>They continued riding through the endless canyon until Cobb Vanth threw up his hand to tell them to halt as they rounded a corner. She watched as the kid's ears raised in curiosity. Before she could react to the apparent interruption, she was taken aback.</p><p>In an instant, Mando had turned quickly, grabbing Cerelia with one of his arms as the other focused on stopping the speeder. He whipped them both off of the bike with a twirl, and Cerelia lost all of the air in her lungs as he had already stopped the speeder, knelt on the sand in front of her, and aimed the blaster rifle toward the empty clearing.</p><p><em>Stars, he was so hot! </em>Cerelia's mind wandered, then she cursed herself. Did he have to do those kind of things during important missions? <em>Damn it, Cerelia. Focus!</em></p><p>Vanth jumped off of his speeder beside them and aimed his blaster with shifty eyes landing in front of the group.</p><p>Cerelia heard an echoing growling noise in the distance and beside her, Little Bit ducked his head back into his pouch in fear. Her hand dug past her robes and rested on the weapon at her belt, but she kept it there. She didn't know who was around, unsure of if it was safe to expose the lightsaber.</p><p>The growls repeated over and over, coming from in front of them. Everyone's tension was built up high, enough stress to fill the caverns around them.</p><p>Suddenly, she could see something pop up from around the corner.</p><p>Her face jumbled in confusion, unsure of what the creature was, while keeping her stance defensive in case the creature was as vicious as it seemed.</p><p>It looked like a dog, except for with thick spikes running along its back and contorted eyes and jaws so wide, it covered its entire face. It seemed as if it was smiling until its mouth opened wide and snarled so loudly, the aftershock nearly slung Cerelia back into the rocks behind her.</p><p>An internal panic rushed over her as her eyes went wide. She was mere seconds from pulling out the Bronzesaber before Mando began to slowly lower his blaster rifle.</p><p>"What are you doing, Mando?" her voice cracked as she hissed a whisper his way.</p><p>Vanth keyed up his own blaster as another one of the creatures walked up from around the corner, joining the original one. Then another from a rock above them. Then another and another. In a matter of seconds, there was an entire pack forming around them.</p><p>Mando dropped his blaster to his side and Cerelia's throat was struggling to form anything but sputtered attempts at a solution to save them. As she was beginning to prepare to yell at him, he lifted one hand up to cup around his mouth.</p><p>A loud, gurgling, screeching, battle cry erupted from his throat.</p><p>Cerelia was taken aback, only able to stare at what was going on with her mouth open wide and her eyes blinking at intervals.</p><p>
  <em>Is this a dream? Had they set the coordinates for Tatooine and ended up in another dimension?</em>
</p><p>Instantaneously, the snarling stopped.</p><p>She shared a glance with Cobb Vanth, who looked just as confused as she did. Mando turned to look at her for a moment, taking in the look of utter dumbfounded expression on her face.</p><p>"What the hell was that?" she uttered, emphasizing every word that left her still half-open mouth.</p><p>Mando stepped forward and Vanth watched him, baffled, as he walked ahead toward the creatures who had calmed down at the sound of his cry. "What the hell you doin'?"</p><p>Mando gestured for them to stay where they were as he approached the dog-like creatures. He spoke in a language that was familiar to her, but she was unsure of what he said, deciding that she was either too rusty to gather the words or she was too starstruck to process what he was saying.</p><p>The original creature rushed over him, leaping playfully. Mando knelt down to rub the animal as it wagged its butt in pure joy.</p><p>Cerelia let out a deep breath, letting go of the lightsaber at her belt and letting her heart ease off some built up stress.</p><p>She stepped up behind Cobb Vanth and he turned to look at her, the two of them sharing that same look as they both shook their heads.</p><p>She didn't know what to tell him.</p><p>She had known Mando for a while now, but she didn't understand him in the slightest. She <em>understood </em>him, technically, but there were things she didn't know about him she wasn't sure she would ever come to know.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>——</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The four of them travelled back from their meeting with the Tusken Raiders. Cerelia had quite a few strange days in her lifetime, most having been spent with Mando in recent months, but this day in particular was becoming the strangest as each second passed.</p><p>In the span of the past day, they had arrived to Tatooine, talked to Peli Motto, discovered the mysteriously hidden settlement of Mos Pelgo in search of a Mandalorian, found the man wearing Mandalorian armor was simply a man who wanted to keep his people safe, felt the shockwave of the enormous beast called the Krayt Dragon, and came up with a plan to unite the Tusken Raiders and the townsfolk of Mos Pelgo to take down the beast.</p><p>It had been a wild day, and it wasn't close to being over.</p><p>It may have been partially because of both Mando and Vanth speeding or because she had been lost the entire way there, but they got back to Mos Pelgo in half the time it had taken them to find the Tusken settlement.</p><p>"They attacked us less than a year ago. Killed half a dozen of us by the mining camp." Vanth explained as they entered the town, stopping in front of the cantina where they had met. "I'd say I took down about twice as many Tuskens."</p><p>He continued as he stepped off of the speeder, which resembled a podracer engine. She had only ever seen a few of them in her life. The mountains of Lysaria weren't favorable terrains for anything other than a ship to fly over. It was difficult to travel around the planet, but she hadn't minded walking through the thick green sweetgrass to get to where she was going.</p><p>For many years, she would imagine she was walking through the valleys of her home planet as she stumbled across the deserts of whatever planet she would end up on after she escaped the captivity of whatever bounty hunter had captured her. It happened too frequently to remember all of the circumstances.</p><p>Her imagination had made it bearable. Recently, she had come to terms with reality.</p><p>The past was important to remember, but now was important too.</p><p>"The town respects you." Mando told him. That much seemed true. At least from how the Marshal had described it. All she had seen from the townsfolk was glaring eyes. Maybe they were different when they knew someone. Hopefully, they would warm up to her and Mando. "My guess is, they'll listen to reason."</p><p>"I wouldn't be so sure."</p><p>"I wouldn't be so sure."</p><p>Cobb Vanth and Cerelia spoke at the same time. Cerelia even smiled at their simultaneous words, and he returned her grin. Although they had experienced different situations, they had at least shared similar trauma. They both had their homes threatened, and had to do what they could to survive.</p><p>The only difference was that he had saved his people from the Mining rule. She hadn't saved her people from anything.</p><p>Mando turned his head to glance at Cerelia for a moment, and she gave a worried glance. She hoped the townsfolk would easily agree to working with the Tuskens, but she knew better.</p><p>She patted his helmet.</p><p>"We won't know until we try, Mandy." she said as she hopped off of the speeder bike, and extended her hand jokingly to the Mandalorian. He huffed sarcastically and took her hand in his own, pulling himself off of the bike.</p><p>Cerelia smiled up at him and even though she couldn't see his face, she was sure there wasn't a smile on his. He was frustrated, and she couldn't blame him. It wouldn't be easy to persuade the townspeople, but they were going to have to be peacekeepers if they were going to kill the Krayt dragon.</p><p>She turned to give him a comforting word of advice, but he had disappeared, having already gone inside.</p><p>She let out a sigh, walking over to the back of the speeder and she picked up the satchel the child was in. He stared up at her as she lifted the satchel over her head and he rested in his pouch at her hip.</p><p>Walking inside the open door of the cantina, she found the group of townsfolk sitting in the various tables at the back, watching cautiously with drinks in their hands, and Cobb Vanth and Mando standing by the bar.</p><p>"This here is a Mandalorian." Vanth introduced as he gestured toward Mando. The crowd stared curiously, wondering what point their Marshal was trying to make. "You know what that means?"</p><p>"We've heard the stories." the Weequay bartender admitted from where he sat in the crowd.</p><p>"Then you know how good they are at killing. Now, this one's got a problem. I got a suit of salvaged armor and the Mandalorian creed says it's his to take." Vanth had the upmost attention of his people.</p><p>"But I've got a problem, too." he continued, and the look of concern filled the faces of the people in the cantina, and Cerelia felt a sudden worry of her own. "A Krayt Dragon has been peeling off our pack animals, and sometimes, taking our mining haul with it. It's just a matter of time before it grows tired of Banthas and goes after a couple of you townsfolk, or even, so help us, the school."</p><p>The group gasped at the thought of such a thing. Maybe they would agree to it, after all. But she wasn't going to get her hopes up.</p><p>"As much as I've grown fond of the armor, I'm even more fond of this town. The Mandalorian is willing to help us slay the leviathan in exchange for returning the armor to its ancestral owners."</p><p>"Well, that settles it." the Weequay answered. <em>Wait until you hear the rest</em>, Cerelia thought. She could already sense they were going to flip out at the proposition of joining the Tuskens.</p><p>"There's more." Vanth attempted, calmly. But instantly, the townsfolk stiffened in disagreement, as if they knew what he was going to say. "We can't take on the Krayt alone. And the Sand People are wiling to help."</p><p>The cantina erupted in refusal.</p><p>"They raid our mines!" one of the citizens shouted.</p><p>"They're monsters!" another yelled.</p><p>Behind all of the screams and shouts echoing back and forth throughout the cantina, Cerelia found her mind clear. She had drowned out the noise, and she heard nothing. It was all clear. What she had to do. Everything was beginning to make sense.</p><p>The loud noise vibrating off the walls of the bar came to a quick silence as the girl lifted her hand to her head and pulled off the wrap concealing her identity.</p><p>For a moment she wondered if Tatooine was too remote for its citizens to recognize her features, but when the cantina filled with a wave of audible gasps, she knew they knew who she was.</p><p>"You're the.." one of the town's women began, barely finding the words to speak.</p><p>"Yeah, I am." she confirmed with a nod. Everyone's attention was set on her, with a few turning to whisper about her to the person sitting next to them. She ignored the bewilderment and continued. "So I know what it's like to lose my home. And I know that if there was something I could have done to prevent it, I would have without a second thought."</p><p>Finally, the whispering stopped and the bar was silent aside from her speech. She sighed. "And I know that the Tusken Raiders- the Sand People are your enemies. But I'm not sure your rivalry will matter when you nor the Sand People have any homes left to defend from one another."</p><p>She paused for a moment, wondering if any of them were paying attention to what she was saying. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. "So, that leaves you with a choice. Dwell on the past and risk your future, or.."</p><p>The words started to hit her more than she ever anticipated.</p><p>"Let go of the past and save your future."</p><p>Before any tears could build up in her eyes, Mando rested his hand on her collarbone and gently guided her back toward him. He held his hand there, as if making sure she was okay before stepping forward and facing the townspeople.</p><p>"We have struck a deal." Mando informed them. "If we are willing to leave them the carcass and its ichor, they will stand by our side in battle and vow never to raise a blaster against this town until one of you breaks the peace."</p><p>The group of townsfolk reluctantly looked around, seeking the approval of the others around them. They knew what they need to do, and the understandable hesitance they had was to be expected. But survival was more important than grudges.</p><p>That was something Cerelia would have to come to understand for herself.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: There are propably literally 10 billion mistakes in this chapter, but I wanted to go ahead and upload it. You can definitely tell that a lot of the scenes were rushed, but it's better than nothing, I guess! I'm DEFINITELY going to edit this chapter later on, but for now, here ya go!!</p><p>Let me know if you guys liked it, and let me know if you find any errors so I can correct them!</p><p>ALSO, be on the lookout during this chapter because there will be (plot twist on a plot twist) a PLOT TWIST in the second part of this chapter. I just want to see if anyone can spot any clues, so I know if I need to make it more obvious!</p><p>Also, just a reminder, several weeks have passed between Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2 (at least in my story, I have NO IDEA how long it actually is in the show) but Cerelia and Mando have went on "a trip" that will be detailed when I finally post the flashback chapter, Chapter 8.5 ://</p><p>As always, thanks for reading!! I love you all!!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. [9.2]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>FINALLY, chapter 9 is complete! I'll add the graphics later, but I have class in 6 hours and I have yet to sleep so that's later's problem!! Until then, ENJOY!!!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They were stationed outside of a weapons facility a short distance outside of Mos Pelgo. They were meeting the Tuskens halfway before going to the cave of the Krayt Dragon to try to outwit and kill the ancient creature.</p><p>The townsfolk were packing up supplies onto their speeders and wagons while Mando, Cerelia, and Cobb Vanth stood isolated in the open doorway at the far corner of the weapons facility, far enough so that the people could not hear their conversations but they could see the desert path where the Tuskens would be coming from.</p><p>"Think it'll work?" Vanth asked cooly, with his arms crossed anxiously. Even though he remained calm, Cerelia could tell he worried for his people and his town. She completely understood what he was feeling.</p><p>If she had been given the chance to save her planet, she would've taken the opportunity in a heartbeat.</p><p>And she would've had the same hesitancy and doubt that Cobb Vanth had. These were his people at risk. His livelihood was at stake, by both the threat of the Sand People turning on them and the overwhelming possibility of the Krayt Dragon eating them alive.</p><p>And she was going to make sure to do as much as she needed to ensure that he could save his people, the way she wasn't able to.</p><p>"It better." Mando huffed. "Joining forces is their only hope."</p><p>That was the truth. They could not afford to allow any rivalry between the villagers and the Sand People to prevent them from killing the Krayt Dragon. Something as stupid as an old feud between the two groups would get them all killed.</p><p>"No need to worry." Cerelia sighed, her mind filled with the overwhelming possibility that everything could go wrong so easily, and it would be out of their hands. "If it doesn't, we're all going to end up dragon food anyway."</p><p>Mando shifted his body in her direction and raised his eyebrows underneath his helmet. "Nice words of encouragement, Cee. I feel better already."</p><p>"I try." she threw back, weakly. A part of her was scared, a big part.</p><p>She wasn't trying to hide it, per-say, but she wasn't outwardly letting Mando know that she wasn't sure about this. What if this time didn't work out? What if this mission was the one they couldn't figure out? What if this mission was their last?</p><p>The thought of seeing Maggy afterwards helped ease the negative clouding in her mind. She wondered for a moment why Maggy had ended up in Tatooine, then considered that the flow of the galaxy and its bounty hunters' knowledge of the locations of others had led her to the same planet, so it wasn't too farfetched to believe that she had ended up there in a similar way.</p><p>She had a million questions, still.</p><p>Who could she have been looking for? Was she even looking for someone? Had she found Spense quickly, and been tracking them ever since to rejoice at the reunion with her long-lost son?</p><p>That last one would be too good to be true.</p><p>Her incessant pondering must have caught Mando off guard, because only after her mind went blank again, she looked up to find Mando silently staring down at her. She couldn't see his face, of course, but she could sense his sudden worry.</p><p>She wanted to hug him right then and there, to let him know that they were in this together, regardless of how the mission turned out. If they were going to fail, they would fail together. And if the galaxy intended for this mission to be their last, together they would die.</p><p>Cerelia had forgotten to respond to him, or even pay attention to the conversation resuming between Vanth and Mando. She had zoned out completely.</p><p>Mando was still focused on her and her own inability to focus.</p><p>Vanth eyed them suspiciously with squinted eyes and furrowed eyebrows as the tension filled the open utility room.</p><p>"I'll leave you two to talk." Vanth let out, awkwardly.</p><p>"No need." Cerelia insisted. "We have much work to do."</p><p>"It can wait," Mando said with a grumble. "We need to talk."</p><p>"We need to strategize." Cerelia reaffirmed with a steady gaze aimed toward Mando's steel helmet. Had her arms been crossed over her chest and her foot stomped out in defiance, it would have completed her usual stubborn look.</p><p>Mando didn't care how she looked at him. He knew something was up with her, and he was going to find out what it was. "And I said, <em>that can wait</em>."</p><p>He enunciated every word he spoke and Cerelia's frustrated glance met the ground as she inched toward the wall, as far away from Mando and explaining herself she could possibly get, at the moment.</p><p>Cobb Vanth held up his arms in a shrug of defense with raised eyebrows as he slowly exited the facility. Mando watched and waited, before stepping forward and pressing the control to seal the doorway closed behind him.</p><p>He stepped back into the room, slowly turning to locate her again.</p><p>She slouched in the corner, burying her face in the nook of her shoulder and the surface of the wall.</p><p>"Cee?" Mando inched closer to where she stood alone in the corner, obviously pondering something as she had slid the wrap off of her hair with her hand covering her forehead and had a clear look of concern on her face. "What's wrong?"</p><p>Cerelia remained silent as she glanced over to study the linings of his helmet. Maybe he would be a whole lot better at the comforting thing if she knew who he really was.</p><p>There couldn't be secrets in a real relationship. Right?</p><p>"C'mon, Mando." she finally answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe. He waited patiently for her to continue with an unsure shrug. She sighed before going on. "You heard the Tuskens. This thing has probably been around a millennium. The last one was probably killed during the days of the Old Republic. How many civilizations has it eaten since then? This is virtually impossible."</p><p>"Have I ever let you down before?" he asked her, leaning in close and setting his hand on her relaxed bicep.</p><p>She looked up at him with her crystal eyes and he could see them glisten with hidden tears. "You're only one man. This is a creature that could consume an entire army of men, and probably has."</p><p>"Yeah, well, I don't think it's ever had to face a Mandalorian and a Jedi. That's about as improbable as our odds to kill this thing." he attempted to joke, and she almost laughed. But she was worried and he knew that this was a big deal because she didn't usually worry to this extent. She was a ball of anxiety regularly, but it was a rare occasion for her to be moved to tears.</p><p>"You really think we can make it out of this?"</p><p>He rubbed up and down on her arm, gently, comfortingly. "Of course. We're us."</p><p>That earned a slight smile.</p><p>He moved his hand up on her arm, gripping his hand around her collarbone firmly, making her look up at him, not with her puppy-dog eyes but really looking at him. "I need you to trust me." he reaffirmed. "I meant what I said when I said that you and the kid are top priority. If I thought for a second we couldn't handle that Krayt Dragon, I'd pack you both up and hop on that speeder right now. But I believe in us. And if anyone can help these people, it's you and me."</p><p>"I know I'm being dramatic, but I..." she prefaced, unsure of how to put her feelings into words. She didn't usually share what she was thinking, not really, which was surprising as much as she talked and talked and talked. But they were empty words, not always what she really meant. "I don't know if I'm cut out for this, Mando. I- I can't lose anything else. I can't. I-"</p><p>"How many times - No, you know what? - I don't care how many times. Every single time, I am going to remind you that you're not losing us. I'm not gonna let you."</p><p>She gently pushed his hand off of her shoulder, steadying herself to look up at him, eye to helmet. "And every time, I tell you that <em>you can't control that</em>. ... But sometimes it's easier when you're the one controlling your fate."</p><p>"What?" he nearly shouted, once he fully understood what she had been saying, his voice heightening to a different octave. He couldn't believe her insinuation. "What does that mean? You wanna leave? Leave me and the kid?"</p><p>"Maybe it's for the best." she uttered, her chin falling in shame. She wasn't sure she even believed her words. But the thought was too much on its own. The thought of losing Mando and the kid, too; it was unbearable. It was nothing she never wanted to consider. But it was a real possibility. Time wasn't guaranteed, for any of them. The Empire was after them, and she lived every single day with the results of what happens when the Empire wants something bad enough. They weren't afraid to rip families apart. And that's what they were now: a family. "I'm not strong like my mother, not like Maggy. I can only handle so much. I'm not.. built for this. I haven't been for a long time."</p><p>"Well, that's too damn bad." Mando said, forcefully, almost holding back a crack in his voice. "You're not going anywhere."</p><p>Her eyes caught her own reflection as she looked up toward him again, stubbornly. He could tell even through the Beskar that being defiant wasn't her main concern. She was clearly upset. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, one he had been trying so desperately to mend.</p><p>"Some people can't be fixed, Mando."</p><p>"That doesn't mean I can't try." A small smile lifted on the corners of her lips, slight and gone as quickly as it had come. He lifted his hand and his thumb caught underneath her chin, tilting her head to make her look up at him again. "You just gotta let me, Princess."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>--</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Tusken Raiders arrived on the backs of their bantha steeds. The townspeople all turned their heads and abandoned whatever they had been doing prior to watch their rivals approach the town they had raided a number of occassions.</p><p>The townsfolk had been helping load munitions and explosives before the Sand People could be seen in the distance heading their way.</p><p>In the doorway of the cantina, Mando stood with Cobb Vanth to his left and Cerelia to his right.</p><p>Cerelia sent a concerned look toward Mando, and he sent back an assuring nod. Maybe this would work out just fine. Maybe they had nothing to worry about. No fights amongst the villagers and the Sand People, and the Krayt Dragon would come out of its cave voluntarily and surrender itself to be killed.</p><p>Okay, maybe that was too much wishful thinking.</p><p>The Tuskens and the villagers worked together to load the supplies onto the large backs of the banthas they would use to transport them on.</p><p>Cerelia was helping as best she could, carefully lifting the explosives and even more carefully passing them on to the next person.</p><p>She was just waiting for something to go wrong.</p><p>Either the Sand People and the townsfolk would start a brawl, or someone would drop an explosive and kill them all.</p><p>Or both. She wasn't sure which one she preferred, but she determined that she would be halfway back to Mos Eisley before both happened.</p><p>At that point, she would just go ahead and feed herself to the Krayt Dragon.</p><p>Suddenly, she heard a loud thunk.</p><p>Uh-oh.</p><p>"Hey, hey!" One of the villagers shouted at the Tusken who had seemingly dropped one of the explosives, aggressively getting into the Raider's face. "What are you doin'? That's an explosive! What, are you trying to blow the whole place up? What? Is that what you want?"</p><p>"Oh, boy." Cerelia sighed to herself. It was expected, after all. "Here we go."</p><p>"Take it easy." Cobb Vanth told the settler as he eased him away from the Tusken, pushing into the man's chest as he attempted to calm him down. "It was an accident, okay?"</p><p>"What do you want to do?"</p><p>"It was an accident!" the Marshal assured. He was actually pretty good at easing tensions between the unlikely rivals-turned-partners.</p><p>"It's gonna be great." Cerelia half-smiled, forcing her thumb to rise in Mando's direction. If she was optimistic enough, maybe she could force the situation to work out.</p><p>If only the Force was that kind.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cerelia rode with her hands hanging onto Mando's armor, a sharp contrast to her arms having been wrapped tightly around him when they had taken the same trip earlier.</p><p>The kid was at her side in his compartment, just along for the ride as always, while Cobb Vanth rode casually to their left and the villagers and Raiders on the tops of the banthas carrying the weapons they intended to use against the Krayt Dragon.</p><p>They scaled miles and miles through the dry desert to return back to the cave of the ancient creature.</p><p>Finally, they could see the entrance to the cave in the distance.</p><p>The Tuskens signaled for everyone to stop and Mando slowed the speeder to a halt and climbed off with Cerelia following casually behind. She let her hand skim over the kid's wrinkly head as she watched the others standing at the closest ravine where they could safely watch the cave at a distance, before leaning down to kiss him gently on the head.</p><p>One of the Tuskens was brave enough to be the one to observe the Krayt Dragon, and the group of them watched as he approached the wide cave.</p><p>She crossed her arms at Mando's right side, a gesture mixed with anxiety about the entire situation as a whole and anxiety about watching the poor Tusken Raider get devoured if the dragon decided it was feeling hungry.</p><p><em>Poor Tusken Raider.</em> Those were words she never expected to pair together.</p><p>The Tusken bent down to one knee in the center clearing and laid his staff flat onto the sandy ground, as well as one of his hands.</p><p>The kid watched curiously from his seat on the speeder behind the group.</p><p>Cerelia watched with her eyebrows jumbled, curiously. She wasn't sure it was her place to question the tendencies of the Tuskens, but she also wasn't sure how anything the Tusken man was doing made sense.</p><p>The Tusken evidently said something that she missed, or gestured. She wasn't sure. Her only focus was on the entrance of the cave where she was certain the Krayt Dragon was going to pop out of at any given second.</p><p>"What'd he say?" Cobb Vanth questioned.</p><p>"He says it's sleeping." Mando informed. "If we listen carefully, we can hear it breathing."</p><p>"Maybe we could ambush it." Cerelia suggested with a shrug.</p><p>"But if it wakes up and finds us on its home turf, we're history." Mando had a point.</p><p>Cerelia glanced over as one of the Tuskens stepped forward to give Cobb Vanth the water that he had refused to drink before and watched as he reluctantly took a sip, nearly gagging at the taste. She stifled the laugh she wanted to let out.</p><p>Mando nudged her and got her attention. His armor was shining in the direct sunlight. "Hey, let's get to work."</p><p>She wasn't sure why, but just the sight of him inspired her to keep thinking like he would. She could think like a bounty hunter too. "Maybe I can try to keep it up when it comes out, but I can't make any promises. If I do, they're going to have to be quick. I'm not sure how long I could control it, if I even can."</p><p>"We'll see. Hopefully, it won't come to that." Mando reasoned. She didn't want to chalk it up to him not believing in her, but that was just her negative thinking. He just didn't want to put her at risk. It was a dangerous task, after all.</p><p>In moments, everyone seemed to be in-sync. The Sand People and the villagers were working together to move munitions to their intended place, setting the banthas up to their stations, digging the tunnel holes and laying the explosives down in them, and pulling out catapults so that the plan could work smoothly.</p><p>It was all starting to come together perfectly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"The Tuskens say the belly is the only weak spot, so we have to hit it from below. First, we bury the charges at the opening of the cave. Then, we wake it up. We have to get it angry enough to charge." Mando spoke between her and Cobb Vanth, then gestured toward the older man. "Once it's far enough out, and the belly is above the explosives, you hit the detonator."</p><p>Before Cerelia could attempt to critique the plan, just to see if there were any faults in the blueprints, they were approached by a young dark-skinned girl with a green hat on her head and the detonator in her hands.</p><p>She held it out to Cobb Vanth. "Careful, Marshal." she advised.</p><p>"Thank you, Jo. And you stay safe, huh?" Cobb Vanth smiled at the girl.</p><p>She nodded back and walked off.</p><p>Cerelia observed the interaction between the two, and it was clear to her that the Marshal cared a great deal about his people. That was what made him ask Mando and her to help him. That was why they were all here.</p><p>She thought about the little girl, Jo. She wasn't much older than Cerelia was when Lysaria fell. All she could think about was how devastated Jo would be if she lost her home, or her family.</p><p>That's why.</p><p><em>I can't be selfish. I can't be scared. It's not about me, </em>she realized. It's about them. It's about Lysaria. It's about the innocent people of the galaxy. Ones who couldn't protect themselves.</p><p>"I get it now!" she wanted to scream, but she only muttered the statement to herself, barely audible enough for her ears to hear.</p><p>As Mando and Vanth seemingly began to discuss strategies, they were approached by another kid, much younger than Jo. He was a little boy, between the ages of five and seven. He wasn't shy about his entrance, either. He was proud to have been invited on the mission.</p><p>"Excuse me, ma'am." he interjected, with a small stutter in his voice. Cerelia registered then that he was talking to her and she leaned down closer so she could hear him.</p><p>"Yes, sir?" she questioned, her tone of voice near the same squeaky tone she used with the baby.</p><p>The boy inched closer, close enough to lean up and whisper in her ear. "Is it true that you're a Princess?"</p><p>Her face filled with a wide smile as waved him closer, then leaned down to whisper in his ear.</p><p>"It sure is." she watched his eyes widen. "I even have proof. Do you wanna see my crown?"</p><p>He nodded rapidly at the offer and Cerelia lifted her wrap back off of her head and let her hair free. She flattened her whisped hairs out so he could clearly see the golden crown wrapped around her head.</p><p>His mouth hung open wide as he reached out and skimmed his fingers over the braided pattern of the crown.</p><p>"Avan!" a voice suddenly shouted as he approached the group. It was a man old enough to be the kid's father, dressed in villager's clothing. "Leave the nice lady alone and come help Papa dig this ditch."</p><p>"Go ahead. I'll show it to you again after we defeat this beast." Cerelia smiled at him and he nodded before turning to run after his father, and she watched as the two of them walked back over to the tunnel the villagers were digging.</p><p>Mando stepped forward to put his hand on her shoulder after a while, to bring her back to the moment, but she could only stare at the kid helping his father dig the tunnels with his little fingers.</p><p>She couldn't help the sad smile that lifted to her lips.</p><p>"He reminded me of Win." she spoke.</p><p>Mando didn't say anything, only let her continue. This was good. She needed to talk about it. She needed to quit bottling up her emotions, but he wasn't one to talk about bottling up emotions either.</p><p>"My little brother." she clarified, but Mando already knew that. He listened more than she thought he did. He didn't talk much, so he learned how to listen well. "He wasn't so little when I left, but he was always my baby brother. He was nearly a foot taller than me the last time I saw him. I wonder-"</p><p>She stopped that thought. It had gotten to be too much. Even if Moff Gideon had been lying, the mere thought of him being gone didn't make sense.</p><p>She was perfectly fine imagining an alternate reality across the galaxy where her family was waiting for her to come home, happy and alive. It was easier than accepting the truth.</p><p>Deciding she needed to send her mind elsewhere, Cerelia focused on the matter at hand. In the clearing of the cave ahead, the Tuskens had gathered with their catapults in an attempt to injure the Krayt Dragon and lure it out far enough so they could ignite the explosives under its belly. She walked forward and Mando and Vanth followed behind.</p><p>They watched, waiting for the few brave Tuskens to wake the beast.</p><p>Three of them inched forward, toward the cave and formed a triangle shape before cupping their hands around their mouths and letting out a loud call. A few dramatic seconds passed as their calls echoed off the cave walls, then a loud growl came out of the otherwise-seemingly-empty cave.</p><p>The three Sand People turned quickly and made a run for it.</p><p>The growling became louder and louder as the ground at the entrance of the cave began to rumble. The sand shook underneath them as they quite literally ran for their lives. The creature suddenly lifted out of the shaking ground and rared its teeth.</p><p>The dragon was nearly the size of the massive cave it had been burrowed inside of, and it was angry.</p><p>Cerelia shared the look of concern that washed over Cobb Vanth's face as they took in the true size of the Krayt Dragon.</p><p>The other Tuskens rushed to their already-loaded catapults and let out a shared yell before unloading their weapons on the head of the dragon as it neared closer and devoured the three Tuskens as if it hadn't felt any of the spears that had sheathed its skin.</p><p>It closed its mouth around its victims and began to retreat back into its cave as quick as it could.</p><p>Damn it, this wasn't part of the plan! Well, she guessed that she never expected their first plan to work. That's why they had a second and a third and so on.</p><p>"Dank farrik, it's going back in." Mando muttered.</p><p>As the roped spears were yanked out of the Krayt Dragon's tough skin as it attempted to esacpe, Cerelia wondered for a moment if her connection with the Force was strong enough to try to control the creature. Could she keep it still? Could she even get a grasp of it, or was it too powerful for her?</p><p>She couldn't help but doubt her skills.</p><p>Moff Gideon's TIE fighter had been enough to handle between her and Maggy, and he had been fighting for his life in much of the same way that the Krayt Dragon was now. But then again, she had been doing more practicing with the kid on their recent missions since then.</p><p>She was never going to get anywhere if she didn't at least try.</p><p>"What do you want me to do?" she asked Mando, as the Tusken Raiders screamed down below in the clearing as they attempted to keep their hold on the ropes keeping the dragon outside of the cave as it dragged them toward it.</p><p>Mando didn't answer as he looked out of his telescope to get a better view of the action down below. His tension proved that he was trying to figure out more alternatives now that their plan had predictably gone to shambles, so she didn't bother him anymore.</p><p>Surely he knew more about hunting than she did. It was his job, after all.</p><p>All she really knew was how to avoid dying when being hunted herself. That had been her job all these years.</p><p>"It's retreating." Mando repeated, clearly going through all his options in his head as he mumbled to himself.</p><p>"I'm going to hit it." Cobb Vanth suggested, as he lifted the detonator in his hands.</p><p>"No, wait!" Mando objected. "We only have one shot. We've gotta get it out."</p><p>"I can do it. Or I can try, at least." Cerelia offered as the Tuskens and villagers threw some of the explosive devices at the Krayt Dragon to slow it down as it kept trying to pull away from their grasp and retreat back into its home.</p><p>They aimed their blasters at it, continuing to fire, and it let out a loud roar as it pushed out further, attempting to injure those who had fired at it. It didn't take kindly to being blown up.</p><p>"Wait, it's working." Mando responded, as the dragon continued to come out more and more into the clearing, clearly upset that it was being attacked.</p><p>"Now?" Vanth questioned as it neared the tunnel full of explosives the villagers had made in the clearing.</p><p>"Not yet." Mando answered, looking again through his telescope. "It's gotta come out further."</p><p>The Tuskens launched more catapults and the dragon continued to come out further, showing off its layers of hundreds of sharp teeth. Suddenly, it pushed upward and three Tuskens were thrown high into the air as they hung tightly onto the rope connected to the spear impaled into the dragon's skin.</p><p>It let out another loud roar and Cerelia's eyes widened as she realized what it was doing. The villagers must have noticed quickly too because they began to run away from the beast.</p><p>It was to no avail as the dragon opened its mouth wide and vomited a golden acid, burning the people it covered into dust in the sand below. The only good thing to come out of that situation was that the dragon was nearing closer and closer to the tunnel.</p><p>Cerelia felt like somewhat of a coward from their spot on the high ridge in the distance as the people ran for their lives on the ground, but it was too late for that now.</p><p>Now, they just had to make sure that their lives didn't go to waste.</p><p>"Almost, almost." Mando muttered to Cobb Vanth as his thumbs inched over the controls on the detonator.</p><p>The Krayt Dragon landed hard on the sandy ground as it emptied its gullet, pushing itself forward and landing right atop the covered tunnel of explosives. Go time.</p><p>"Now!" Mando shouted, and Cobb Vanth fumbled with the buttons and found the right one, pressing it with both hands.</p><p>Even underneath the beast, the explosives blew loudly, slinging sand and debris high up into the air surrounding the cave, hitting the villagers and Tuskens hard as they bent down to avoid the aftershock.</p><p>The creature let out a loud growl of pain as the wave of the explosion hit the ridge they were standing on. Cerelia's hair blew in the wind and behind them, Little Bit's ears flapped backward and he squinted his little eyes.</p><p>Cerelia shielded her eyes with her hand, trying to avoid getting dust in her eyes while also keeping a close gaze on whether or not the beast was dead.</p><p>It was difficult to tell behind all the smoke of the blast.</p><p>The people below stood to their feet as the smoke began to clear up, and the Krayt Dragon was nowhere to be seen. Which meant it had survived and gone into hiding somewhere in the sinking sand below.</p><p>"I don't think it's dead." Cobb Vanth shared.</p><p>"Me either." Mando agreed.</p><p>It wasn't too shocking. Honestly, she would've been more shocked if that one had worked. She sighed, "We couldn't be so lucky that our first plan would actually work."</p><p>Down below, the people waited in a scared anticipation, waiting at any moment for the beast to pop up out of the sand and devour them. Only it didn't come from below.</p><p>Suddenly, at the top of the highest mountain above the cave, the Krayt Dragon burst out of the rock and let out another loud roar along with another blast of its acidic vomit, reducing some of the villagers below into a puddle on the sand.</p><p>"It's picking us off like womp rats!" the Marshal exclaimed, clearly frustrated. Those were his people who were dying below. He had to do something. They all had to do something, especially Cerelia.</p><p>She had been gifted something great by the universe, it was time she used it.</p><p>"Now?" Cerelia asked.</p><p>Mando could only nod at her as Cobb Vanth grabbed his blaster from his pod-speeder. "Let's get after it!" Vanth shouted, determined. Mando stopped in front of Cerelia as he grabbed his own long blaster from where it sat on the speeder.</p><p>"If it's too much, I want you to stop. The two of us can do our part." Mando explained, a frightening mixture of calmness and a bundle of nerves. "I'm serious, Cee. Don't overdo it. I don't want you hurt."</p><p>She managed a grin. "I didn't say I was going to do it all. The least I can do is try to hold it off while you boys do all the heavy work."</p><p>Mando huffed at that as he prepped his weapons.</p><p>"Yeah, right, <em>Little Jedi</em>. Show me what you can do." he whispered over to her. She let out a mischievous smile as he patted her on the small of her back and moved over next to Cobb Vanth. His touch stayed there, tingling for a moment before she brought herself back to reality.</p><p>Cobb Vanth put on his helmet and the two of them got ready for action.</p><p>"Be careful!" Cerelia shouted as Mando shot up into the air on his jetpack and Vanth followed shortly after. She looked at the kid beside her, sitting in his spot in the speeder, and nudged him gently. "Wish me luck, Little Bit." she whispered before walking up to the edge of the ridge, and prepared herself for her task at hand.</p><p>The dragon remained on the top of the mountain, spitting out its vomit on the clearing down below as the villagers and Tuskens moved away from its acid. Mando and Cobb Vanth flew higher and higher as they approached the top of the mountain where the Krayt Dragon sat.</p><p>Cerelia pushed out her arms, closing her eyes and letting in a deep breath as she focused on inhaling and exhaling. She felt the brisk wind on her face and tried to clear her mind, instead of begging the Force to come as she normally did.</p><p>
  <em>If I need it, it will come. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Force is my power. The Force is the source of my strength.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. </em>
</p><p>She opened her eyes again, feeling the connection began to soar through her veins like the brisk wind around her. <em>I am my surroundings. I am the air around me, I am the rock up above.</em> She focused on gaining control. Surely she could overpower a simple-minded Krayt Dragon, one of which was distracted by fighting for its life.</p><p>In an instant, she could feel her body being warped as it jutted forward. Her arms felt a heavy pull, and she nearly jumped for joy as she realized she had done it.</p><p>She had done it!</p><p>The Krayt Dragon stilled as Mando and Cobb Vanth landed on the rock beside it, still unhappy and trying its damndest to get free of her control.</p><p>It was angry now, even angrier than it had been, which was saying quite a lot.</p><p>The two of them fired up their blasters and shot several times at the creature's head. Over and over again, the dragon remained stationary, still managing to empty acid down below. If only she could control that, too. The Force can only work so many wonders, after all.</p><p>"This ain't doing a thing!" Vanth shouted at Mando above. No matter how still Cerelia was keeping it, the blasterfire didn't seem to faze the dragon at all. It was only making it more angry.</p><p>"Just keep shooting!" Mando told him.</p><p>Cerelia could feel her feet sliding as the creature became more restless. It wasn't going down without a fight, that was for sure. She was struggling, watching her feet began to crumble the rocks of the edge of the ridge below. She was going to fall, if she wasn't careful. And she was going to lose control over the dragon, if she was too concerned about falling. It was a lose-lose situation.</p><p>As she contemplated falling to an almost certain death or potentially jeopardizing Mando and Vanth's life by letting go of control of the Krayt Dragon, she wasn't sure which route was a worse one to take.</p><p>She grit her teeth as her feet inched closer and closer to the cliff as the dragon resisted her more and more.</p><p>Suddenly, she felt a sudden release of energy as if her pull was being shared. She didn't think much of it, only a wave of relief as she let out an exasperated sigh until she glanced beside her, and Little Bit had come out of his pouch on the speeder somehow and stepped out onto the sand in front of him, with his eyes closed in concentration and his arms raised in front of him. He was helping her.</p><p>She nearly squealed with how proud she was of him.</p><p>Her little buddy's short time of training had paid off, after all.</p><p>But soon enough, as Mando and Vanth continued to harm the dragon, it became too much. As Mando's blasterfire neared the eye of the beast, it won control back, nearly sending Cerelia and the kid stumbling back. It rared its thick skull toward Mando and Vanth, attempting to swallow them whole but luckily they flew away in time.</p><p>They flew to the ground below, landing in the clearing in front of the cave and the Krayt Dragon moved from its position on top of the mountain to go seemingly back into its cave. Surely it wasn't going to stay there, it was out for vengeance now.</p><p>Cerelia was tired, but they were closer than they had ever been to killing it. She steadied herself on her feet, picking the kid up and rushing him back over to his pouch to rest. She pointed her finger at him, and he could only blink tiredly from overexertion as he attempted to see what she was doing, but he was far too exhausted.</p><p>"Stay here, kid. I'll be right back!" she told him, and rushed over to the safest place to step down off of the ridge and make her way down to the clearing below where Mando and Vanth were.</p><p>She made it after a while and stopped in front of Mando.</p><p>She had a plan, one she was sure would work. Now, she knew her capabilities. She didn't doubt herself anymore.</p><p>"Okay, my plan now." she stated, and she could almost see Mando's eyebrows raise underneath his helmet and she could actually see Vanth's eyebrows raise in front of her. "It's gonna come out again, probably around here. I just need to get above it."</p><p>Mando nodded in agreement after a moment, waiting for the rest of her plan.</p><p>"Can you give me a boost?" she asked him.</p><p>"Is this just an excuse for you to get to use the jetpack?" Mando questioned. She sighed. Duh, that was why. But, it was also a great plan!</p><p>"Maybe... It's gonna work, though!" she exclaimed. "I promise... Maybe."</p><p>Mando stayed silent for a moment, contemplating his answer but perhaps a wave of impending doom shot over him because finally he answered, "Okay. It's worth a shot."</p><p>Cerelia smiled giddily, resisting jumping happily in the air. The worst that could happen would be that her plan went horribly wrong, and that wasn't too likely.... Was it?</p><p>She stepped over to stand in front of Cobb Vanth, waving an accusing finger at him. His eyes widened at her, curious of what she was doing and afraid of the high-tempered petite woman. "Anything happens to the kid, it's your ass." she threatened.</p><p>"Yes, ma'am." he saluted, scared to consider what the girl would do to him if he let anything at all happen to the little green child above. It was a terrifying thought.</p><p>Cerelia turned back to Mando.</p><p>"Any second now, it's gonna come out." she reminded him. "Time to get this show on the road."</p><p>Mando sighed with his hands resting unsure on his hips as he contemplated letting her go through with her plan. <em>Hey, he agreed, he better not chicken out!</em> "Are you sure?" he questioned.</p><p>"Yes, Mando." she nodded, assuredly. "I'll be fine."</p><p>"I know you'll be fine, cause I'm here. I asked if you were sure about this." he responded, lifting his chest all manly as he stood up straight and neared closer to her. Wow. He's getting cocky. Or he's learning how to flirt. Either way, it was a new side of him Cerelia didn't mind. <em>And two can play at that game.</em></p><p>Cerelia lifted her eyes to look at him underneath her long eyelashes, giving him a flirtatious look as she lifted her hand to pat him on his armored chest. "I've got you with me, don't I?</p><p>Mando inched around to stand behind her, extending his arms out to get ready wrap around her before they went in the air.</p><p>He got closer to her, his chest touching her hair and the overwhelming feeling of him being so, so close overcame her. He bent down a little, leaning down so she could feel the heat off of his armor that had been sitting in the sunlight all day radiating off of her cheek.</p><p>"Hold on tight." he whispered.</p><p>"I always do."</p><p>His right arm wrapped tight around her middle and his left hand covered his right forearm as he locked her in tight around him, secure and unable to fall from his grip. "Okay. Ready?" he asked.</p><p>"As I'll ever be." she breathed. His wrist reached over and pressed the control, sending them flying straight in the air.</p><p>It was an exhilarating feeling. She wanted to let out a shout of joy and adrenaline, but all that came out was a laugh. Wow, this was more fun than she thought it would be!</p><p>She could jump pretty high with the Force, but she had never been this high up in the air and that fast.</p><p>Now, they had to wait. They floated in the air a fair distance from the cave to give them a warning when it came out.</p><p>Almost as if on cue, the Krayt Dragon came out from underneath the sand, this time instead on the opposite side of the clearing. It might have been a problem if they were on the ground, but Mando simply hit his control and turned them around.</p><p>"Get me over it!" Cerelia yelled over the roaring sound of the jets and the growling noises of the angry creature below. Mando followed her instruction and they flew toward the beast.</p><p>As they neared closer to the beast, she realized she probably should have disclosed to him the rest of her plan. But he had trusted her to know what she was doing. He had trusted her to be a leader, to take action, and that was what she needed to do now.</p><p>She gripped the warm hilt of the weapon at her belt and began to pull it from its place in her holster. "When I say 'now', let me go."</p><p>"What?" Mando shouted over the loud noises.</p><p>In the amount of time it would've taken her to explain, it would've been too late. They were over the Krayt Dragon and they were mere meters away from being its lunch if it jumped too high.</p><p>"Now! Let go!" she shouted and she felt his reluctant grip do just that as she flipped midair, setting her sights on the dragon down below as she unleashed the weapon at her side.</p><p>The bright orange glow of the Bronzesaber was all the she could see, other than the dull orange of the sand beneath, as the lightsaber sliced into the thick neck of the Krayt Dragon.</p><p>She landed on the back of the dead creature as it fell to the ground. It let out a loud roar of pain before it landed limply on the sand below.</p><p>"That's my girl." Mando muttered to himself in the air as he pumped his fists in celebration.</p><p>All Cerelia could see as the villagers and Tuskens rushed to crowd around her, jumping and cheering, was Mando landing on the ground next to the creature and extending his hand out to help her down.</p><p>She jumped briskly off of the dragon and landing in Mando's arms as he accepted her embrace, shaking her around happily and cradling her head in his right hand as he spun her.</p><p>He set her down on the ground and she looked up at him with a wide smile as she spoke, ""Traat'aliit'bor gotal'ur te vercopa borarir."</p><p>Mando grinned underneath his helmet. <em>Mother of Moons, this girl was perfect.</em> Even a bit scratchy, Mando'a sounded heavenly coming off of her lips. "Teamwork makes the dreamwork." he repeated, this time in the common tongue.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Nice work back there, Princess." Cobb Vanth congratulated as Cerelia made her way back up to the ridge to get back to the kid on the speeder. Mando was helping get some of the dragon meat down below with the villagers and the Tusken Raiders, scrounging what they could from the belly of the beast.</p><p>"Thank you, Marshal. I could certainly say the same to you." she nodded at the man with a smile.</p><p>It was silent for a moment between the two as Cerelia made her way over to the kid, who was sleeping off his tiredness from before and she turned back around to look at the man.</p><p>"You two make a great team. You and the Mandalorian, I mean." he complimented.</p><p>"Yeah. We're pretty good together." Cerelia agreed. They certainly did. It was tough at first. They didn't always agree, not that they did always now. But it was certainly easier after they had gotten to know each other. They were practically in-sync now.</p><p>"'Cause you love 'im."</p><p>"What?" That caught her off guard.</p><p>"Look," Vanth said, holding his hands out in defense. "I might've been born on Tatooine and stayed on Tatooine my whole life, but I swear to you, I can see the whole galaxy ain't worth it just by the way he acts around you. It's like he's home..."</p><p>Cerelia stuttered her words, unable to formulate a response. She hoped he couldn't hear how loud she was breathing, how loud her heart was beating at the accusation. She stumbled out a response, "You can't even see his face."</p><p>"Ain't got to." the Marshal insisted. "An armored man can wear his heart on his sleeve too. Don't need X-Ray vision to see through any Beskar to know the way he looks at you. Hell, a blind man could see that. Just how he acts. Like he'd jump in front of a Kraft Dragon for you. Which I'm sure he would have, if it had come down to it."</p><p>She wasn't sure what to say. "I'm glad it didn't have to come down to that." <em>Well, duh, Cerelia!</em></p><p>"I didn't mean to put you on the spot." Cobb Vanth eased. <em>You sure as hell did! How else did you mean for it to be, coming up to me and telling me that you think Mando is in love with me?</em>, she wanted to tell him, but she just let him continue. "I just wanted you to know. You got a good one there. Don't lose it 'cause you're too stubborn to know when you've got a good thing going. Home ain't gotta be a place."</p><p>Cerelia thought about his words for a moment, certain they were going to stay on her mind for the rest of her life, as she tried to figure out what to say to that.</p><p>As if by fate, whether good or bad, Mando approached the top of the ridge and began to walk over to them. They stopped talking, clearing their throats simultaneously.</p><p>Wow, that's not suspicious.</p><p>"This was well-earned." Cobb Vanth said as he handed Mando the armor he had only just taken off, the one they had earned from him for killing the Krayt Dragon as Mando responded that it was his pleasure. Cerelia had nearly forgotten about the armor. She was mostly concerned about killing the dragon so they didn't die, not just for some rusty armor.</p><p>Ooo, she hadn't considered it, but maybe she could talk Mando into letting her try it on.</p><p>Now that she had a taste of flying, she wouldn't mind having a jetpack of her own!</p><p>"I hope our paths cross again." Cobb Vanth told Mando, as he extended his hand out for him to shake.</p><p>"As do I." Mando said to the man with a nod.</p><p>Cerelia shook the man's hand next and nodded at him with a grin. "I don't mind seeing you again, but you're gonna have to be somewhere other than Tatooine, cause I don't ever plan on returning."</p><p>"Eh." he shrugged with a handsome smile and a slight wink. "It grows on you after a while."</p><p>She smiled back at him. Maybe Tatooine wasn't so bad. At least the people were nice. She could certainly do without anymore Krayt Dragons or bounty hunters trying to kill them. Maybe then, it would be a nice place to stay.</p><p>"Oh and," Cobb Vanth stopped himself before he walked away from the duo, pointing at the armor in Mando's arms and the jetpack from it. "You tell your people I wasn't the one that broke that."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In the far distance, miles and miles away but still able to see the sight of the Mandalorian and the girl climb onto the speeder on the ridge, after they had loaded everything onto the bike and each pet the little green creature atop the head, on a hidden ridge, eyes fell on them.</p><p>Not one pair, but two.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cerelia rode on the speeder away from the cave as she had rode into Mos Pelgo, with her arms wrapped tightly around Mando's middle, with her head resting on his armored back as they rode through the vast desert of Tatooine.</p><p>Now, they just had to get back to the Mos Eisley Spaceport and see if Maggy was there waiting for them. Then, they could go back into space and sit on the Razor Crest in peace until it was time to find another planet for another mission.</p><p>Maybe, just maybe, she could convince Mando to take them back to Sorgan so they could go back to the village they had saved and stay there in peace for a couple weeks until the Empire eventually found them.</p><p>No, that was selfish. That would only bring more chaos to those people who certainly didn't need it.</p><p>Chaos seemed to follow them everywhere they went.</p><p>Maybe if they went far enough into the Outer Rim, the Empire couldn't track them anymore. Maybe the kid's tracking fobs would stop signaling, and they could live in peace somewhere quiet.</p><p>There was that wishful thinking again.</p><p>"Do you see that?" Mando asked, and Cerelia groggily leaned up off of her comfortable position laying on his back and looked up over his shoulder.</p><p>In the distance, she could see a figure standing absolutely still between two tall rocks. Unmoving. The figure was cloaked, so she couldn't make out any details of the person, only that they were suspiciously standing straight ahead of their path and they weren't moving.</p><p>Surely they could hear the steady humming of the speeder bike coming their way.</p><p>But this person was facing them, even if their cloak was covering their face. Like they were waiting specifically for them. The only way anyone could have been expecting them is if they had been watching them. As if they knew they were coming.</p><p>Cerelia panicked, unsure of what to tell Mando. If they slowed down, who knows what the figure would do? But if they sped up, who knows what the figure would do?</p><p>"Try to go around." Cerelia managed to tell him and Mando quickly adjusted the speeder to the left and sped it up.</p><p>Suddenly, they heard blasterfire aimed their way, and in mere moments, they were sent spinning sideways as the speeder bike took a tumble at the shot.</p><p>She luckily saw it coming and was able to ease their landings. "Get the kid!" she yelled toward Mando as she quickly assessed the damage of the speeder. There was a gaping hole in the front, but it wasn't entirely wasted.</p><p>"Try to fix it, I can handle this one!" Cerelia told him, but before Mando could object, she yelled again, "I know this is your speciality, but I don't know how to fix a speeder and you do, and one thing I do know how to do is fight. If I'm getting my ass handed to me, then you can drop the speeder and help me!"</p><p>Mando only stuck his hand up in defense as Cerelia ripped her own cloak off that she had put back on before she got back onto the speeder at the cave and grabbed the weapon at her side, unleashing it from the holster as she scanned the desert in front of her.</p><p>Where did they go?</p><p>"Come out, come out, you son of a bantha!" she attempted to rile the figure up, urging the person to come out of the shadows. They had to be hiding behind the rocks from before because it was pretty difficult to hide in an open desert. At least, she thought. "Normally, bounty hunters are in a hurry to come and get a piece! Are you scared, you mudlicker?"</p><p>She instantly regretted her insults as the figure ambushed her as she approached the rocks, carefully. Not carefully enough.</p><p>She ignited the Bronzesaber quickly and began to swing it behind her as she twirled around, hoping to have hit the figure, but it was to no avail. Where did they go?</p><p>The figure was gone again. Cerelia whipped around every which way, back and forth. Her heart beat quickly as she smiled, feeling the Force reminding her of her senses.</p><p>She Force-pushed the figure back as they jumped out at her from behind, intending to send them meters away but only skidding them back a few feet in the sand.</p><p>"I like your shiny little weapon." a woman's smooth voice spoke, slyly. "A coward's weapon, if you ask me. I don't need a lightsaber to take you out."</p><p><em>Oh? </em>Cerelia thought, <em>Is that a threat?</em></p><p>She clearly hadn't met Cerelia yet.</p><p>"I'd like to see you try." she dared, as she gestured with her left hand for the figure to come at her.</p><p>She quickly looked over at Mando and the kid, who watched intently as Mando distractedly tried to fix the speeder in the distance.</p><p>The figure jumped out at her again and she blocked them with the Bronzesaber as the woman quickly moved out of the way of the weapon.</p><p>"I'll be honest with you," the woman said as she prepped her stance defensively. "I'm here for the bounty on all three of you, but my real target is you, Princess."</p><p>"Well, I hate to disappoint you," Cerelia began as she aimed the Bronzesaber straight out at the woman who was squaring her up. She wondered for a moment why the woman wasn't using the blaster she had used to fire at the speeder. Maybe that was her only blaster bolt and she had no more charges.</p><p>No, that didn't make sense. A bounty hunter would be more prepared than that.</p><p>Then why wasn't she using any weapons?</p><p>Cerelia continued, "But you're gonna be going home empty-handed, <b>if</b> you get to go home at all."</p><p>"Your threats have no effect on me, Youngling." the cloaked woman hissed at her. "I have hunted Jedi far more powerful than you since I could walk."</p><p>Cerelia grit her teeth at the woman's insult. She didn't sound much older than Cerelia and she was calling her a Youngling? Those were fighting words.</p><p>Okay, it had been enough small talk. Now, it was time to finish her.</p><p>She nearly let out a war cry as she charged forward at the woman with the Bronzesaber wrapped tightly in her grip, ready to strike.</p><p>Suddenly, Cerelia felt an overwhelming tightness in her throat as it closed up around itself. What? What was this? She saw the woman's extended hand and her twisted fingers aimed toward Cerelia's neck. It couldn't be. It didn't make sense. Well, actually, it did. That's why she wasn't using a weapon. It was because she didn't need one. This woman was a... Jedi.</p><p>Cerelia fought the woman's grasp, reaching up tightly around her neck and trying to keep her grip on the Bronzesaber so it didn't fall to the ground.</p><p>She couldn't breathe.</p><p>She was mere seconds from seeing spots.</p><p>And then.. the woman released her grip. Cerelia fell and landed on one knee as her free hand went to her throat, letting out a loud, continuous cough as she collected air back into her lungs.</p><p>The woman reached up her hand and lifted the cloak away from her face, and Cerelia looked up quickly, expecting her to strike.</p><p>She could see Mando running out of the corner of her peripheral vision.</p><p>But then, as she observed the woman take off the hood covering her head, she couldn't focus on anything else as her jaw dropped.</p><p>She recognized the face.</p><p>She recognized this woman. It was one she had seen in few portraits her mother had drawn, memories her mother had painted so that they could live forever even after everyone in them had gone, the memory would remain. She had no doubt who the face belonged to.</p><p>Dahlil. But Dahlil would be pushing fifty years old by now, and this woman looked half that. It didn't make sense.</p><p>"Dahlil?" she questioned, in a breathless voice, partially because she could hardly breathe and because she couldn't believe what she was seeing before her eyes.</p><p>"Guess again."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Ayeeeeee, chapter 9 is FINALLY complete after 100 years, it seems! Let me know how you guys liked it, or hated it, whatever, let me know!!!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Who do you guys think the woman is? Let me know! Share your thoughts! I love feedback!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Okay, I have an 8:30 to 10:45 and 11 to 12:15 class tomorrow on Zoom and it's past 2am, so I need to go to sleep! Have fun reading! As always, thank you guys for reading!!!</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. [8.5.1]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is a flashback to a couple weeks before Chapter 9!</p>
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  <b> <em>Cerelia... </em> </b>
</p><p>The girl stirred in her deep slumber.</p><p>The nightmares had been haunting her ever since they soared off of the lava planet Nevarro. That had been many nights ago, and she had dreaded sleeping since the first night.</p><p>
  <b> <em>Darling, please. You must save us. </em> </b>
</p><p><em>You're not real</em>, she told herself. <em>My mother wouldn't taunt me. It's just a nightmare. It will pass. </em></p><p>She had told herself that was the truth for days on end, but it had been weeks and they had only gotten worse each time.</p><p>Initially, it had just been a reminder of the planet burning as she had escaped on the gunship while her people suffered at the hands of the Imperial soldiers on the ground. Her sobbing on her knees as the others attempted to console her as she felt the presence of her mother in the Force fade away.</p><p>Then it had gradually shifted.</p><p>Each night, she could see figures begin to appear slowly and piece together like a puzzle. The first time, she had only seen a silhouette of an older woman with long, curly hair. She hadn't even seen a glint of graying-silver, only a shadow.</p><p>The next night, she could see the side of the woman's face. She had known before who the woman was, but she had hoped that her dreams couldn't be so cruel.</p><p>When she had spotted her mother's presence, she was overcome with a wave of relief. Peace washed over her again, and her dreadful nightmares had turned into sweet dreams she never wanted to leave.</p><p>It had lasted only a moment. Until her mother turned around to face her and the gaping wound of a lightsaber cut through her middle was the only thing Cerelia could focus on.</p><p>Tears filled her eyes in both her dream-world and reality, and Mando watched from his seat in the cockpit as the girl twitched subtly every few moments. He didn't want to disturb her, so he limited his interference to whisper her name every time she stirred. The echo of his voice would calm her briefly, and she would be at peace until the nightmares began again and the cycle repeated.</p><p>"<b>Why did you leave?</b>" the presence asked. The voice didn't belong to her mother. Mercilé was sweet, soft but firm. She didn't sound contorted or... wicked, like this voice.</p><p>"<em>Stop!</em>" she begged, with tired tears filling her lidded eyes. "<em>Leave me be. Please. Get out of my head!</em>"</p><p>They're not real. The images, the voices, the nightmares. It's your imagination getting to you, she told herself.</p><p>"<b>The truth is so hard for you to hear because you refuse to accept it.</b>" the image spoke.</p><p>"<em>No</em>," Cerelia denied. It was something she had pondered every day for the past six years. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't. It wasn't.<em> "I couldn't- I couldn't have saved them.</em>"</p><p>"<b>You could have at least saved your people.</b>"the diabolical voice told her. It wasn't her. Her mother was gone. But it looked like her.</p><p>Her mother's heart-shaped face stared back at her, wrinkles having formed under her wide blue eyes that matched her own. Her sweet smile as she extended her soft hands out to her daughter. Perhaps it was her.</p><p>Cerelia walked toward the glowing figure in the abyss, each step sinking her deeper and deeper into the unknown. It was dark and endless, but the light ascending from her mother's presence shined bright enough to guide her way.</p><p><em>"I would have." </em>Cerelia spoke, reaching out to grab the figure's open hand. The tears had frozen on her cheeks as the cold depths of the abyss rang through.<em> "I should have saved you."</em></p><p>As her hand extended, she noticed there was a hesitance in the figure's tension. As if they weren't expecting her to believe that it was actually her mother.</p><p>Cerelia yanked her hand back as she began to scan the features of the woman in front of her.</p><p>Her eyes were blue, but they weren't her mother's. They weren't lively and honest. The eyes staring back at her were empty. They were lonely. Her hair was silver, but not traced with gray lines of age. The crown on her head was not one of a Queen's, but a Princess'.</p><p><b>"Ceri, you know better. That's not me.</b>"Her mother's voice spoke. It was her this time, no doubt. She could hear the comforting nature in her mother's gentle tone. That was how she spoke to her children when she wasn't yelling at them for doing something stupid, something that her father seemed to indirectly encourage. That was the voice her mother only spoke to her father to when she wasn't being snarky with him. It was a voice of love and truth."<b>That's you.</b>"</p><p>She was right.</p><p>Cerelia stumbled backward, looking at the woman in front of her. It was her. It was her own subconscious. It always had been her own mind that had been her worst enemy.</p><p>She ridiculed her every move to no end, she hated herself more than anyone ever could.</p><p>"<b>You must learn to live with your guilt, or extract it entirely.</b>"Mercilé told her daughter. Cerelia could feel her mother's hand over her shoulder. She was here, after all. Just not physically. Cerelia's eyes shut, soothed and relieved. She just wanted her mother back. She could listen to her talk forever, no matter what she had to say. It was her voice that she had heard on repeat for the past six years. "<b>I want you to know that you could not have saved me. Nothing could have.</b>"</p><p><em>"I could have!" </em>Cerelia insisted, turning around to find that her assumptions were correct. Her mother wasn't with her.</p><p>She put her face in her hands, trying to tame the river of tears that were escaping rapidly.</p><p>"<b>You must forgive yourself, Ceri. It was not your fault.</b>"Her mother said, firmly.</p><p><em>"I can't.</em>" the girl cried as she lifted her hands from her face and looked around into the steep emptiness. "<em>There isn't any amount of forgiveness for what I've done." </em>Her tone became cool, less pitiful, and more ashamed. "<em>Or failed to do."</em></p><p>"<b>Come home, Ceri. I can show you.</b>"</p><p>"<em>I can't go back. Just tell me!</em>" she begged, but before she knew it, her mother was gone, and her eyes were lifting fast.</p><p>The girl woke with a start.</p><p>"Come back!" she yelled out, but the only ears to hear her belonged to the confused Mandalorian and the baby sleeping soundly beside her, in his own chair.</p><p>"Hey, Cee." that deep, soft voice that had been seeping through the cracks of her dream world whispered as she felt a hand stroke gently over her hair, firmly as the partially-gloved hand seemed to enjoy the silkiness of her hair. "I'm here."</p><p>
  <b> <em>Come home, Ceri. Come home.</em> </b>
</p><p>She looked up at the Mandalorian as she spotted herself in the reflection, slumped over with tussled hair, red-rimmed eyes swelled with tears, and pink, blotchy cheeks.</p><p>
  <em>He must think I'm crazy.</em>
</p><p>"You've been squirming all night. I didn't want to disturb you, so I just called you until you stopped for a while then started again." Mando explained. She was too disoriented to fully understand the words coming from his mouth so he sat awkwardly while the girl squinted up at him.</p><p>The brief silence between them seemed to last an eternity, before finally, he spoke again, "Are you okay?"</p><p>She lifted one hand to her face and wiped the dried liquid from her eyes. When she was finished, she looked up at him, registering what he had said after such an overload of information in her dream. It was good to hear his voice again.</p><p>By now, the kid had woke up and was staring at them with a tilted head and a confused look in his eyes. Cerelia's mouth curved into a smile at his curiosity.</p><p>"Yeah, Mando." she nodded, not confident in the slightest at the words coming out of her mouth. "I'm alright."</p><p>He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, unsure of what comfort she needed, or if she needed it at all. Still, she could argue with him all day long and deny his help, but he'd come back regardless. Something was wrong, and he wasn't going to let it go. "You don't seem alright."</p><p>"Hey," she began, firmly, reaching out for his wrist. "You don't need to worry about me. There are more important things."</p><p>Mando didn't hesitate with his response, "No, there's not."</p><p>Cerelia sighed, wearily. She wasn't sure of what to tell him, partly because she couldn't come up with an answer for herself, let alone come up with a response to tell him. Her very thoughts were haunting her.</p><p>"Is there anything you need?" he asked, concerned. There was a clear hesitance in his voice that showcased how uncomfortable he was. He wasn't used to showing emotions on his own, and no one had ever bothered to share their emotions with him, so he had absolutely no idea how to handle someone when they were upset. But, judging by the fact that Cerelia was shielding her every expression and bottling up her words, she didn't know how to handle them either. But he would try his best.</p><p>He cleared his throat, one of his hands rubbing the back of his Beskar helmet in a mild panic. "There's not much on the ship, but we can make a stop if you need a medpac. I might have one on the lower level, but-"</p><p>"No," she answered, softly. "I'm okay. I just need..."</p><p>He waited for her to finish, but she remained silent with tired, shifty eyes. She never looked up at him. She was fidgeting with her hands in her lap. He stepped closer to her, boxing her in as he stood directly in front of her folded, sulking position.</p><p>He leaned down, kneeling before her. He didn't touch her. He would let her figure out what she needed. She knew that better than him, no matter how long it took her.</p><p><em>I'm here</em>, he wanted to comfort. But she knew that, too. <em>She might need space. I can't make any assumptions. </em></p><p>"I need..."</p><p>"What is it? What do you need?" he nearly exploded, his relaxed comforting technique becoming too overwhelming. He was too impatient for that, at least when it came to her and her wellbeing.</p><p>She lifted her chin slowly, finally looking up to see her reflection once again in his Beskar mask.</p><p>She knew finally what her answer had to be. No matter how much it hurt to admit.</p><p>"I need to go home."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cerelia spotted the forest green planet almost immediately after the Razor Crest entered the star system. She had only seen her homeworld from afar on the rare occasion her father took her on a mission with her. Other than that, there was no reason to ever leave Lysaria.</p><p>Her chest seemed to cave inward more and more the closer the rustbucket got to the mountain peaks.</p><p>It was a strange feeling, like she didn't belong there anymore. The planet she had spent the last six years dreaming of returning to felt as if it was pushing her away.</p><p>As the Crest lowered into the atmosphere, she felt a wave of familiarity rush over her like heavy rain.</p><p>The planet was in shambles, but not as bad as it might have been years ago. The remains of the Imperial invasion left the city in ashes. The towers and buildings that weren't burned completely, were charred and falling apart.</p><p>She could make out the layering of golden bricks along the walls of the Sanctuary and the shining stone of the castle she had called home. It was like the place was wrapping around her, like she was being welcomed back.</p><p>She felt peace again.</p><p>It had been so long. Seven long years on the run had added up, and there wasn't a moment that she hadn't felt vulnerable, except those rare moments when she had found herself embraced in Mando's strong arms. But here was that feeling again.</p><p>
  <em>Home.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mando landed the Crest on the royal landing bay, where they would dock ships filled with diplomatic senators and leaders who had come to feed them sweet little lies and courtesies to get what they wanted. Her mother had smiled at them, as her own father had before her, and her father had welcomed them to their humble castle as if they had good intentions with their visit.</p><p>Some of those visiting weren't all bad. She had made a few friends with the children of those other leaders. That's where she had first become acquainted with the later Rebel General Leia Organa.</p><p>Leia was of a similar mind as Cerelia. The two enjoyed the calmer aspects of diplomacy, although Cerelia sensed that if Leia had wanted to do so, she could convince any ambassador in the galaxy to join her cause.</p><p>Cerelia's favorite part was judging the silly outfits of those who arrived.</p><p>She would stand beside Nadi and give a polite curtsy to whoever the visitor was as the two stifled quiet giggles. Their mother had given them a sharp look as she walked by, while simultaneously welcoming their guest. Their father would only smile or wink at the girls as he followed behind.</p><p>She would lightly shove Nadi ahead and they waited until most of the guests had gone far enough away to burst out in laughter. They had received judging eyes from some of the soldiers and the dock workers, but they hadn't cared. They only collected themselves and awaited whatever rules they would have to follow until the guests had decided they had stayed long enough and went back to their own planets.</p><p>But now, as she walked slowly down the hatch of the Crest, laughter seemed so foreign.</p><p>The walkway of the dock was cluttered with rubble from the damage the castle had taken and the once-clean air of the planet now reeked of the faded scent of smoke and</p><p>The gardens were overgrown and the golden shine of the walls surrounding her had waned. The civilization that had once been so full of life was now grim and empty.</p><p>It was exactly what she anticipated an abandoned planet would look like. But she never imagined Lysaria would look like this.</p><p>It isn't supposed to look like this.</p><p>She heard Mando's footsteps behind her on the ramp and she finally took her eyes off of the kingdom around her and turned to look at the man behind her. He held the kid in one of his arms as he stepped off of the hatch, walking slow and silent to let her take it all in.</p><p>Little Bit was glancing around with his bright, wide eyes, curious of where they had landed like he always was. He didn't know any different. For all he knew, Tatooine had been home for her, or Arvala-7.</p><p>She waited until Mando made it to her side and extended her arms out for the kid. He did the same, mimicking her extended arms, and reached out to meet her. She latched him to her side and began to walk ahead.</p><p>Mando resituated himself and followed behind.</p><p>As they continued ahead, he found it curious that no one had taken over the remains of the kingdom. It was in shambles, but still livable. It could easily be repaired with enough men. After seven years, it had not been invaded.</p><p>It didn't make sense.</p><p>With all the pirates in the galaxy, this place would be a paradise. This was a place people fought wars to keep.</p><p>And it was completely empty?</p><p>He couldn't wrap his mind around it, but only continued after the girl walking slowly ahead of him as she took it all in.</p><p>They had finally entered an open corridor that led to the docking bay from the castle so they could easily meet their guests, but far away enough that soldiers would have enough time to defend their people from an ambush.</p><p>It seemed as if Cerelia was tiptoe-ing with how slow she was walking. He watched as both she and the kid turned their heads from the left to the right, taking in every detail of their surroundings.</p><p>The kid sat comfortably on her right side with her arm wrapped around him, and Mando examined as her left arm reached out toward the wall of marble stone and her fingertips rested on the cold interior.</p><p>As she turned toward the wall and let her hand touch the stones, he could see her eyes shut and her throat tighten.</p><p>She let out a dry, broken laugh as she leaned away from the wall, a crack in her voice as she spoke. "It still feels the same."</p><p>The girl seemed amazed at the fact that the stone had kept up after all this time, even with the aftermath of the invasion.</p><p>It had been so long for her, and it was clear those years had taken their toll on her.</p><p>Her fingers abandoned the marble and left the once-cold stone warm behind her touch, and she persisted on.</p><p>She knew what was ahead, the risk of all the memories flooding back again and drowning her. But she would have to learn to get her head above the water, no matter how long it took her. And this time, she had Mando to pull her from the rough waters and rescue her from the dreadful waves.</p><p>It was much easier knowing he was there to lean back on. She wasn't alone anymore, as she had been for such a long time. It wasn't something her mind accepted overnight. She would have to become used to having someone again.</p><p>She didn't have to bear it all alone.</p><p>Her footsteps became familiar to the walkway again, melting into the tiles as she was becoming comfortable with the path she had walked on nearly every day for fourteen years of her life. It had been snatched away from her, but it was back now.</p><p>And she would be leaving on her own accord.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mando could see that Cerelia's steps had become more hesitant as they approached the wide, golden doors in the distance. He sensed that she wasn't ready, or at least she didn't think she was. So he only paced behind her, waiting for her to make that choice on her own.</p><p>Her fingers didn't trace the decorative lines of gold and a deep steel color on the door. She didn't even reach for the door handles, trimmed in the same braided pattern as the crown on her head. She could barely get close enough to see any details of the door.</p><p>She was afraid.</p><p>
  <em>Mando is here. The kid is here. The Empire is gone. Your fears should be gone with it.</em>
</p><p>"I can't." she admitted finally, with shame in her eyes. She glanced over at the door and held a glint of hopefulness in her gaze, hidden underneath a mountain of sorrow she would need to climb. "At least, not yet."</p><p>"We can wait." Mando told her. He extended an assuring hand to lay on her arm as he stepped closer to her, ready to catch her if she began to crumble around him. He wanted to embrace her now, to hold her until she didn't have any fears left, and to let her know there was nothing in the whole universe for her to be afraid of while he was around. He wanted to remind her of that, but he didn't want to intrude. "We've got all the time in the galaxy."</p><p>"I'm sorry." she apologized.</p><p>"You got nothing to be sorry about." Mando reaffirmed, extending his arm out to cover her shoulders, guiding her away from the door and getting her mind away from that despair. "Me and the kid aren't going anywhere."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They made their way from room to room, entering closets and broom rooms and the soldiers' quarters. All were empty and untouched, as if they hadn't been worthy enough of being destroyed in the hopes of finding treasure inside their walls.</p><p>She eventually guided the two of them further into the corridors of the sleeping quarters, the kid now in Mando's arms as the kid had requested a shift of parental responsibility with his little arms extended out toward Mando, and Cerelia had surrendered him over, knowing full well that he would be whining again in no time to come back to her.</p><p>At least, with him in Mando's arms, she had free reign to explore while they followed behind.</p><p>Maggy's room was first. It was largely untouched, other than the clear sign of a fire having been the first of the royal rooms and closest to where much of the explosions had been aimed. Maggy hadn't kept many belongings other than some articles of clothing and some playing toys for young Spenser to keep him occupied. Seeing his empty crib in the corner partially burnt made her want to weep for her friend.</p><p>But she was getting him back. In fact, she wouldn't be shocked if Maggy had already found him and was making her way back to meet up with them.</p><p>If Maggy had anything, it was determination. And when it came to her son, there wasn't a task in the galaxy she couldn't complete.</p><p>Cerelia hadn't touched anything in the room, leaving it as it was when she entered. It wasn't her place to do so. This belonged to Magna and her son.</p><p>She made her way further down the hallway, approaching the doorways that would hurt her the most. <em>You can't conquer a mountain you never attempt to climb</em>, she encouraged herself.</p><p>The window was shattered in Win's room. She got a chill when she entered the bedroom, a mixture of the cold and the feeling of a lost presence. The walls were crumbling in on each other. It was so lifeless, so desolate. Nothing gave any indication this room had belonged to her brother.</p><p>She couldn't stay in there long either, and she blamed it on the cold, but the misery of remembering the past left an ache far worse than any bitter frost could.</p><p>Her parents' room was still in-tact, although it had been ransacked during the invasion and nothing remained but satin sheets and scattered furniture. Cerelia couldn't even step through the doorway. It was all too much.</p><p>That bed, the shredded curtains, the missing decorations. None of her mother's dresses and her once-cluttered, now-empty closet and her father's tidy corner of his neatly folded robes now plagued with the dust of having not been touched in years.</p><p>Everything that made it theirs was gone.</p><p>Nadi's room was practically empty, except for her bed and drapes on the large window. She was never there, anyway. Nothing in her room could excite her quite like the antics she got up to. If there had been anything else in her room, she surely would have broken it on her own.</p><p>There was some visible damage from the fires, caused by the explosions she witnessed as the gunship carried her away. The walls were collapsing slowly, sure to give out eventually.</p><p>But her simple dresses remained, thrown around in clutter across the room as she had learned the antics from her mother. She had no jewelry any pirate could steal or any fancy dresses they could sell.</p><p>Cerelia smiled at that. Nadi had been exactly as helpful to them as she wanted to be. Even the act of being as low-maintenance and unconcerned with the fancy aspect of diplomacy was so incredibly Nadi. She was so defiant, to the deepest cress of her bones.</p><p>She stayed in Nadi's room the longest, touching and pacing as she memorized every detail of what remained of her sister.</p><p>Every corner, every nook, every inch of the empty room made her long for the moment she would be able to hug Nadi again.</p><p>It almost hurt to leave, grasping onto the doorway and turning around to look over it again. But it was easier than it would have been. Because, unlike any of the others, she knew she would see her sister again.</p><p>She was the only one left.</p><p>She nearly whispered it, but it remained in her thoughts. <em>It's here waiting for you when you get back. </em><b><em>I'm</em></b><em> here waiting.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cerelia crossed the corridor of the royal quarters with slow footsteps, approaching the final room at the very end of the hall.</p><p>It had been so long, she hardly recognized the doorframe. Her footsteps seemed to have memorized the walk as she approached the familiar room as if no time had passed between now and the last time she had entered it.</p><p>Her room was a delicate cream color, accented in dreamy white decorations. She had a silk canopy draped over her bedframe and her pillows and blankets had remained fluffed and without wear, other than now being packed with layers of dust from having not been touched in seven long years.</p><p>It hadn't changed at all.</p><p>It was far away enough from any of the blasts that it was completely unscathed. It was exactly as she had left it.</p><p>Perhaps the stormtroopers and any pirates that had arrived after hadn't quite made it to the end of the hall to snatch and steal her belongings. Not that she had much of anything to take.</p><p>It was the bedroom of a girl who had spent most of her days in the Sanctuary or the throne room, or in Nadi's room or her parents'. She didn't have much need for anything other than her clothes packed neatly in her closet and a few of her stationery supplies at her vanity.</p><p>Mando stepped in slowly after her, with the observant child in his arms looking around the room in awe as he did with every room they had entered.</p><p>"Don't you dare say anything!" she said when she observed the sudden tension in his body language as he fully entered her room. She could practically see his mocking grin underneath the Beskar. "I was fourteen when I was last here. I don't imagine your room looked any better!"</p><p>"I wasn't going to say anything." he nearly let out a laugh when he opened his mouth and cleared his throat quickly to hide it. He relaxed then as he observed the girl with her lips crinkled in an embarrassed grin as she watched his reaction. He finished clearing his throat and stepped closer to her, getting familiar with the layout of the room. "It's much homier than anything I've ever called a room."</p><p>He set the kid down on an open spot on her vanity and he began to play with some of the random stationary objects laid neatly in piles.</p><p>Cerelia wondered for a moment how Mando's childhood must have been. He claimed to have not been able to take off his helmet since he was a young child, so he had been immersed in that culture for longer than he could remember. Did they sleep in bunks while they were in Mandalorian boot camp? Did they even have a camp?</p><p>She realized then how really ignorant to the Mandalorian ways she was. Maybe she would get Mando to answer some of her questions one day.</p><p>She wiped some of the lint and dust off of her bed and flopped down onto the soft mattress. It was like she had fallen onto a cloud. She sighed happily, patting the empty side of the bed next to her, and waited for Mando to plop down beside her, but he didn't.</p><p>Leaning up to look over at him, she sat with her arms keeping her balance as she furrowed her eyebrows at his non-movement. He seemed like he wanted to move, but he wasn't sure.</p><p>Here we go again.</p><p>Cerelia raised one brow in mischievous thought as she plotted thoughtfully to herself. <em>Mando would have made a good Jedi with how much he sulks around like a monk.</em></p><p>"You know," she began, a teasing tone in her voice and she saw Mando's body stiffen slightly at her words, unsure of whether it was from the prior tension of her inviting him into her bed, or if the flirty tone she had begun with had shaken him up. "I've never had a boy in my bedroom before. Except for my little brother, of course, but I don't think that qualifies."</p><p>Cerelia arched her back slightly, balancing herself as she removed the outward cloak she had on over her thin, simple Jedi robes. She threw it on the floor beside her and returned to leaning back on her arms.</p><p>"Uh-" Mando attempted to speak, awkwardly letting out a noise that showed he either didn't know what to say, or he was too wound up to get the words out.</p><p>All she had done was take off one layer. She had done in promiscuously, of course, but it was only a cloak after all.</p><p>If she had taken off the tunic and the belt wrapped around her middle as she wanted to, Mando probably would have fallen out and died right there.</p><p>If he acted this way with her fully clothed, how would he react when she had no clothes on at all?</p><p>"What would the court think, if they knew?" she dramatized, holding her free hand over her chest in fake shock. "It would be a scandal!"</p><p>Cerelia watched him stand awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to her. She grinned again, leaning up once more and extending her neck up, putting her unmarked throat on display for him.</p><p>"It's getting hot in here, don't you think?" she fanned herself, with an expression that showed she was clearly up to no good.</p><p>"Uh, I-"</p><p>She gave him a glance underneath her eyelashes. "Relax, Mando. I'm only teasing. If you don't want to lay with me, I guess I'll-"</p><p>"I never said that." Mando interrupted. He didn't understand why he was reacting this way. He had seen far more scandalous images of women before, but just the position of her laid back for him on silk sheets and a mischievous smile on her face made him gulp.</p><p>What was this girl doing to him?</p><p>Cerelia tilted her head slightly with a wide grin on her face and a wicked gleam in her bright eyes. She was teasing him, and he was melting around her like snow in Tatooine.</p><p>She was treading on mighty thin ice, that's all he knew.</p><p>This was a man who had been deprived of intimacy for longer than he could admit, longer than he could remember, honestly. There was no way of knowing what she was doing, what she was awakening inside of him.</p><p>Before, hunting was his only priority. He enjoyed the pleasures of the occasional women throwing themselves on a tall, mysterious masked Mandalorian bounty hunter, but it was never something he needed to keep him occupied.</p><p>But this... no, <em>her</em>...</p><p>He felt a need for her flesh and bone more and more as each second passed and each inch of her skin was revealed to him.</p><p>It was overwhelming. It was overcoming it very being.</p><p>He began to step closer and Cerelia hopped to her feet at that moment, almost skipping back to the doorway as she turned back to look at him with that same wicked, teasing grin curving the corners of her mouth.</p><p>"I think I'm ready now." she told him.</p><p><em>Don't be so sure about that</em>, he thought.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hours had passed of waiting and waiting and as she observed every corner of the home she had been forced to leave behind, and it was clear what Cerelia was doing.</p><p>She was mustering up the strength to face her fears.</p><p>Mando only stood back and let her, his mind clouded with thoughts that hadn't come to the surface in a long time.</p><p>They had since made their way back to the Razor Crest briefly, packing up supplies and putting them in his satchel and retrieving the kid's cradle, and returning back to the castle once they had decided without conversation that they would be staying the night.</p><p>Finally, Cerelia had wrapped her dainty hand around the golden handle, latching firmly onto it as she pulled one of the wide doors open with all her might.</p><p>They stepped in gradually, taking in the mere sight of the room. It had to take up half of the castle with how wide it was.</p><p>"This is a big room." he observed, in awe at the size of it. He wondered what they would've used it for, and as if she had read his mind, she answered his questions.</p><p>"It's a ballroom, Mando."</p><p>"A ballroom?" the first syllable slipped off of his lips in confusion. What did a ball have to do with this? Did they play a sport here? That's what it was, he figured. It must be an indoor field of some sort!</p><p>"A ballroom," she repeated, observing his response curiously. A part of her couldn't believe he didn't know what a ballroom is, but the other part of her understood how selfish it was to judge him when they had clearly led very different lives before their paths crossed. She watched her expressions, careful not to silently embarrass him as she explained. "It's where a bunch of royal aristocrats dress up in gowns and robes and eat elegant foods and talk to their enemies face-to-face with a fake smile on their lips and disdain in their eyes. But more importantly than that, people dance."</p><p>"Dance?" Mando questioned. <em>Did he grow up under a rock? </em>She tried not to judge him too harshly. It was actually quite cute that he was clueless about most of the things she was raised doing. She was clueless about his childhood, too. But she could teach him like she wanted him to teach her. "Like..."</p><p>"Like slow dance. A protocol droid will play the harp and Bith occasionally play the sax, if it's less formal. But some diplomats we accommodated were much too proper for such music. So, most of the time Nadi and I would dress up in the most sophisticated gowns we could find and come see who could dance with the most species in one night. It was a game we played." she reminisced, a sweet smile forming on her lips as the walls of the large room seemed to invite those joyful memories back.</p><p>"That sounds..." Mando couldn't quite figure up the word. He could only imagine himself being awkwardly in the corner in one of those situations. He would never be at a ball, in the first place.</p><p>But if he had, it would have been-</p><p>"Fun." Cerelia beamed. "It was really fun."</p><p>"I bet every man in the room lined up to dance with you, huh?" Mando lightly huffed to himself, a slight hint of humor in his voice. Cerelia couldn't tell if Mando was joking, or if he was.. jealous.</p><p>"No, not really," Cerelia answered him, truthfully, her smile falling slightly as she inched closer to him. "Nadi always won. She was much more... personable than I am. Everyone wanted to dance with her. Creatures of all kinds drooled over her. I mean, she was extraordinarily beautiful.</p><p>"I bet she couldn't hold a candle to you." he muttered, without realizing he had spoken. She looked up at him with a surprised smile and he cleared his throat loudly as he fidgeted around, shifting his stance defensively. "No offense to your sister, though. I'm sure she is as beautiful as you say."</p><p>Cerelia stifled a laugh at him. "Relax, Mando. I won't shoot you if you think my sister is prettier than me."</p><p>"You couldn't if you tried." Mando retorted, getting frisky with her as well. She loved when he fed off of some of her energy. It was nice to see him act out of his typical comfort zone.</p><p>"Oh?" she challenged, inching closer and closer to him until all that was between her chest and his was a couple of centimeters of air and Beskar, and quite a few inches of height. "How much you wanna bet?"</p><p>"All the credits in the galaxy, Princess."</p><p>They stood close as if they were one, her eyes channeled upward toward his Beskar helmet and they remained in a telling silence until finally, she came up with an idea.</p><p>Cerelia pulled away and began to walk over toward the large dining table that had once served guests for dinner parties, and Mando furrowed his eyebrows underneath the steel barrier over his face, wondering what she was up to.</p><p>She took Little Bit, who had been watching the two of them, out of his cradle and set him on top of the dining table. He had an ink stamp wrapped in his tiny hand that she noticed he had decorated the front of his crib with. He began to stamp the table as soon as she put him down, but he seemed happily preoccupied as she walked back over to Mando.</p><p>"What are you doing?" he questioned.</p><p>"I didn't think it was fair to leave him in the pod while we're having fun."</p><p>"What do you-"</p><p>"Here," she grabbed his hand forcefully, subconsciously, and guided it to her waist. "Put your hand here."</p><p>Mando reluctantly maneuvered his hand comfortably, still barely a whisper of his touch on her body as he carefully held her.</p><p>Cerelia sighed, lifting her arms high to put them on his shoulders as far as she could reach. "You're not going to break me in half."</p><p>Mando's eyebrow raised underneath his helmet as she wondered where she was going with this.</p><p>She sighed again at that. That's not what she meant. Kind of. He could learn that lesson for both situations if she was being honest. "I promise I won't shatter if you touch me."</p><p>Finally, he gripped her side a little tighter and pulled her closer to him. He's awkward and unsure with his stumbling steps but she guides him in the way she knew before. She had danced quite frequently as a result of the game she and Nadi played almost every week of her life, as soon as she was physically able to dance. It was muscle memory, at this point.</p><p>She guided his feet as best she could, instructing him to follow after her. She laughed loudly, from deep in her gut as Mando nearly lost his footing over and over again. He chuckled at his own movements and her contagious laughter, finally loosening up as she had wanted him to do.</p><p>This was the release they both needed.</p><p>No pressure, just fun.</p><p>As the two of them spun awkwardly and uncoordinated across the lengthy tiles of the scorched ballroom, she imagined what her mother must have looked like on her wedding day. Nearly bursting with child, dancing across the glorious sanctum with a wide smile on her face and wild laughter as the room filled with unmistakable happiness, full of villagers and diplomats and friends alike, all unaware of the pain and sorrow to come in time.</p><p>She could only imagine them seeing her now.</p><p>It must have been a sight to see from the outside, a princess in dirty Jedi robes howling in laughter as she danced with a clumsy Mandalorian donned in shining Beskar armor, stumbling over his own feet.</p><p>Mando smiled underneath his helmet, a real smile that hadn't formed on his face in so long that he couldn't even begin to remember when he had last felt something like this.</p><p>Likely never, if he was honest. She brought out the best of him, that was for damn sure, considering.. she <em>was</em> the best of him.</p><p>He cleared his throat again, not forcefully or awkwardly, but he struggled to find his voice after he had let out as many laughs as he had in an impossibly long time and he could hardly let his smile drop for long enough to let out the words he wanted her to know.</p><p>"Cerelia.." he began, still dancing but with much slower, more calculated movements. He was too focused on her to bother with anything else. Ironically, he danced better while distracted.</p><p>"Ooo," she smiled as she continued to sway with her hands on his shoulders. "No nickname? Am I in trouble?"</p><p>He kept dancing with her, now silent as he considered what he was trying to say, trying to piece the words together how he wanted them to come out.</p><p>She realized then that he was being serious, and her smile dropped as she listened to him, still swaying slowly, spinning around and around across the marble tiles beneath them.</p><p>"I've..." he began again, then paused again. Cerelia stopped their movements, calming him as her hands moved from his shoulders to the top of his chest.</p><p>"You've got my undivided attention, <em>Din</em>."</p><p>Every doubt he had faded suddenly and the words he worried over became so clear that they slipped off of his tongue as easy as breathing and as familiar. "I've been... stoic for a long time now, almost all my life. But you-."</p><p>He hesitated again, watching as her eyes softened and he became lost in the wild sea behind them, completely mesmerized by every aspect of her with her messy hair, her dirty face, and her unwashed robes, as he finished his thoughts.</p><p>"You brought me back."</p><p>She beamed, her smile as wide as it had ever been as her cheeks flooded pink. She lifted her arms back up to his shoulders and began to sway with him again, as his hands on her waist inched around to wrap around her back.</p><p>Resting her head on his armored chest, she closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the pure sensation of true peace as they danced across the wide length of the golden ballroom, losing track of time and free of care. "I'm glad I did."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>A/N: This is only the first part of their trip to her homeworld, and there is a LOT more in store! I am currently writing a steamy scene for part 2 and I'm trying to not make our dear Mando too OOC, so bear with me for now! This chapter is kinda ehhh, but part 2 is gonna be jam-packed with flashbacks and angst and maybe a little steamy steam *wink, wink*</b>
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  <b>As always, let me know if you found any mistakes so I can correct them and thank you guys for reading!! &lt;333</b>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This will be split into 2 parts, cause there's a lot more stuff left in this chapter!</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. [8.5.2]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If there was one thing Cerelia was most excited about now that she had slightly moved past the heartache associated with the walls around her, it was the steaming showers and the stone baths.</p><p>Oh, the options were endless.</p><p>She hadn't had a hot shower in so long she couldn't remember the last time she had felt scorching water droplets flowing down her skin. She remembered enough to know it felt like paradise. And it most definitely would after so many years.</p><p>She guided Mando in there first, giving him the privacy he wanted to take off his Beskar armor so it didn't rust in the water and leisurely wash his body on his own. Unless, of course, he wanted her help because she was only waiting for the opportunity to volunteer to do so.</p><p>But, as she showed him how to start the faucet of water and get it to the temperature he wanted, the tension between them was more awkward than steamy.</p><p>They needed to move past that, or she was going to implode from the inside out.</p><p>As Mando took care of his business, Cerelia set the kid in her mostly empty room and let him play with the objects he had taken a liking to off of her vanity. He had especially liked one of her ink pens that no longer had any ink, and she had placed the cap over the sharp tip so he couldn't accidentally hurt himself before she made her way toward the door. She closed the door behind him so he couldn't go off wandering in the castle.</p><p>That was the very least of what she needed right now.</p><p>Cerelia finally mustered up the courage to enter her parents' old room, after sitting in the doorway for what seemed like an eternity until she just let her feet guide her path and faced her fears head-on.</p><p>Nothing changed as she entered the room. The galaxy didn't shift in any way, no molecular change in her body. Not even a knot in her throat.</p><p>Her heart was beating fast in anticipation of actually being in their room again. She remembered nights when she had dreams of evil Sith Lords and pirates coming to take her livelihood away and her mother had stroked her hair and held her tight while her father told her stories of how they had defeated evil in the days of the Clone Wars, and how it had cheered her up knowing that any danger that would come their way wasn't something she had to worry about because they could fight it.</p><p>Now, she realized how naive her parents had been.</p><p>Or perhaps they had only wanted to shield her away from the truth.</p><p>Either way, she didn't blame them for the stories they had told her. They had shaped her into the woman she had become today, they had raised Nadi into becoming a General for the Rebellion, they had raised Win to sacrifice himself for a cause he cared deeply for. They had done the best with the circumstance they were given, and she could never thank them enough for that.</p><p>Cerelia retrieved the clothing items she had been looking for, a simple nightgown to sleep in while her dirty robes were soaking in a bin of soap and water to be cleaned, and one of her father's night-shirts and comfortable pants to offer Mando just in case he wanted them. It couldn't hurt to try.</p><p>She uneventfully made her way out of the room with a pile of clothes in her arms as she told herself it didn't matter because it wouldn't be the last time she entered that room. There wasn't any reason to be sad.</p><p>That was something she needed to keep reminding herself of. Maybe then, everything would be okay.</p><p>If she could convince herself that she was fine, then she could get her subconscious to fix all of her wounds for her. <em>Okay, too much wishful thinking.</em></p><p>Cerelia made her way down the corridor once again to the bathing chambers where she had left Mando earlier.</p><p>Pulling the door open slightly, she nudged her way in quietly.</p><p>She could see the wide, toned silhouette of a man without any Beskar shielding his muscle definition from her, and she fought every urge in her body not to strip her clothes off and join him as she called out loudly.</p><p>"I set out some clothes for you to sleep in if you wanted me to clean your underclothes for you," she yelled over the steady dripping of the heavy water pressure.</p><p>Suddenly, she heard the scrape of the faucet valve turning off, and the water stop quickly. She heard Mando sigh breathlessly, and she focused on the light dripping noise as the water fell off of his soaking shadow like droplets of pure gold.</p><p>She only regained her own composure when she closed the door of the room behind her and let out heavy, unsteady breaths as she made her way back to her room, waiting for the Mandalorian to finish soaking up every ounce of his alone time, wondering what he had been doing in there before she walked in.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cerelia had only a moment to catch Mando walk through the door of her room, carrying a big, heavy sack of his armor over his shoulder with a get-up that made her nearly burst out laughing.</p><p>He looked absolutely ridiculous.</p><p>In dark gray wool pants and an off-white tunic that fit him perfectly, everything under his neck looked miraculous. If that had been all of him she had seen, she would've nearly let out a moan before falling out at seeing the Mandalorian with a tight shirt and pants that left little to the imagination. But that wasn't all.</p><p>The remaining helmet positioned on his head was quite the sight to see paired with regular clothes.</p><p>Cerelia wasn't sure what to say. She could hardly control her breathing, not wanting him to think she was overly affected by his new attire. She was, most definitely, but he didn't need to know that.</p><p>"Uh," Mando spoke, seeing her shifty eyes fall to the ground, most specifically away from his tight clothing. "Water's still warm."</p><p>"Oh, yeah," she was brought back to the situation at hand. She was excited, mostly, about having her first good hot shower in way too many years, but her mind was all over the place: What had Mando been doing in the shower? Did he know that she was bothered by his new attire? Could he sense what she felt the need to do as soon as the steaming water touched her cold skin? "I won't be long."</p><p>Yeah, right. As long as it took to let off some built-up steam.</p><p>As soon as she walked through the door, leaving Mando sitting casually on the bed and the kid floating across from him in his cradle, she sought after some much-needed alone time.</p><p>That, and she was thrilled to be showering again. It had been far too long.</p><p>Peeling off the dirty robes that had belonged to her mother was bittersweet, both a relief to be removing the clothes she hadn't removed in far too long after having been on the run since the events that transpired on Nevarro, and saddening at the thought that she had nearly ruined robes that her mother had worn so many years ago. But Maggy had gifted them to her. Would it have really been better to never know the robes existed? Would they really have done her any good being a pile of clothes sitting unworn, mocking her and the people she had lost?</p><p>No, she finally concluded.</p><p>All things must come to an end, she guessed. Preservation has to come to a halt.</p><p>Lysaria had, after all. They had done everything right. Her parents raised them to fight and civilians were informed of the dangers, and they persisted. They had played it safe for so many years, and they still had their planet invaded.</p><p>Things either last, or they don't. Simple as that.</p><p>Those thoughts were far too heavy for the release she was anticipating as soon as the scalding water droplets hit her dry skin.</p><p>She made her way over to the gold-plated shower and turned on the faucet, letting her mind wander back to the sight she had welcomed only moments earlier. Not only had she been blessed by the image of Mando in regular sleep clothing, but she had walked in on him in a seemingly private moment.</p><p>Although she obviously could not confirm the act that Mando had been doing, she could use her critical thinking skills to come to the conclusion that Mando was doing exactly what she wanted to do, as well.</p><p>If only she had the guts to join him, they could still be in the shower now-</p><p>By the time her mind entered a tunnel of dirty thoughts — even dirtier than her own unwashed body, which was no small feat — the water was, no doubt, warm enough for her to hop in the shower. It took absolutely no time for her hands to find something to do.</p><p>Imagining Mando in those <em>dirty</em> scenarios was sensual enough as it was, but the addition of self-induced pleasure by her own hand only heightened the experience, nearly pushing her over the edge.</p><p>Every inch of her bare body she grazed, she replaced her own touch with the thought of Mando's rough, calloused fingertips leaving bruises on her delicate skin. She wouldn't be surprised if every remaining soul on the planet could hear the noises coming from her mouth when she found exactly the spot she had been anticipating. Even more-so, she didn't care.</p><p>Maybe her volume would only invite certain individuals to join her.</p><p>And finally, when it all came to an end, with her panting heavily and her limbs tired, the sudden silence overwhelmed her. She found that not even the noise of the shower running water droplets over her head could comfort her.</p><p>Many things were missing from making her complete, and one of them was sitting on her bed, waiting for her to finish up.</p><p>She only stepped out of the scalding shower when she realized that her own fingers had no comparison at all to what she imagined.</p><p>She covered her now towel-dried body with the soft, silky material of her pale pink nightgown. It fell to the middle of her thighs and left little to the imagination, but it was comfortable and she wasn't exactly seeking to be modest in any way. If anything, she was trying to be as outward as possible.</p><p>With Mando, she needed to explicitly share what she wanted. Hints were not his forte. And she figured this would be one of those rare instances they had time to sort those things out, quickly and isolated.</p><p>Here, they didn't have much to worry about. It would take any of the remaining Empire officers a while to track them, if some of the beacon shields had still remained on her planet. Although she wasn't sure they had held up after so many years, she was willing to take that chance.</p><p>It was nice to be at peace after being on the run for so long.</p><p>It was easy to convince herself they were safe here, as her parents were able to convince her for so long that Lysaria was indestructible and she would never be harmed.</p><p>Risks and dangers were a taboo discussion. If everyone is without worry for long enough, it made for a serene, tranquil environment. Everyone on Lysaria was happy and never thought in a million star systems that the Empire would find its way to their homes, but the Empire had, and it had taken all of that peace with them.</p><p>All that remained was the buildings that hadn't burnt, and the ashes of what had.</p><p>The bodies had since been buried in the graveyard she first observed in the courtyard she had since been unable to bring herself to visit. Cerelia had seen some tall statues that had been built recently on the way down from the sky, having been built sometime in the seven years since the Fall, but she couldn't bear to look at them. She wasn't quite ready yet.</p><p>But she would be, eventually.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cerelia arrived back into the room casually, not peeking toward Mando, not even wanting to see his reaction to her outfit. Seeing an emotionless helmet wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to see <em>him</em>.</p><p>Still, as she entered the room, she couldn't help but find her eyes peeking over toward him. He sat up slightly as she made her way over to the kid lying in his cradle in the corner, who had apparently been anticipating her return even more than Mando.</p><p>He cooed at her return, smiling wide at her presence. She wondered for a moment why he wasn't asking her to pick him up in her arms, but judging by his narrowed eyes, he was too tired to play right now.</p><p>As she tucked the kid into his blankets, she leaned down to kiss him on his hairy little head. She kissed the top of each of his ears, earning another nearly-toothless grin paired with a small squeal in happiness. Her whole mood shifted as she couldn't help but beam cheerfully down at the child in front of her.</p><p>She rubbed his tiny hands in between her thumb and her finger, then released gently.</p><p>"Goodnight, little guy," she whispered as she leaned down to the button on the outside of his pram, closing the top of the cradle with the image of his now-closed eyes as he quickly fell asleep.</p><p>She made her way over to the window, where there were small holes from the several places that the glass had been shattered, assumingly back during the Invasion. She could feel a slight draft through the openings and attempted to push the partially curtains back to combat the cold wind.</p><p>It was dark outside, nighttime having fallen, and some part of her expected Mando to pop up behind her at any moment, but as she turned over her shoulder slightly, she could see that Mando's gaze was faced in her direction. He was sitting up, leaned back against the bedframe, and he turned to watch her.</p><p>Cerelia looked up at the stars in the galaxy for several minutes, silence between the two of them, and the only noise in the room being the screeching wind pushing lightly against the windows.</p><p>Her thoughts consumed her. What should she do? Would he make the first move? Would he make any move at all?</p><p>Was anything even going to happen?</p><p>Should she just lay down and they'd fall asleep?</p><p>Was Mando not thinking the same thing as her?</p><p>Maybe all of the desire was going to her head and making her think irrationally. The kid was technically right there, even if he was shielded by the closed pram. Was she crazy for thinking such things?</p><p>She turned toward the bed. She could see Mando tilt his head slightly, attempting to act as if he was busy with something else, and as if he weren't just spying on every move she was making.</p><p>In a spur-of-the-moment decision, she stalked over like a panther, clearly up to no good, and made her way over to the bed she had slept in every night for the first fourteen years of her life. But this specific walk up to her bed was certainly different than any other.</p><p>Instead of plopping down in her own spot, she could see the surprise in Mando's body language as she set her knees first on the soft sheets and crawled over to him.</p><p>Before he could even muster up a statement that would only make her roll her eyes, no doubt overtly righteous, she brought her leg up over his cloth-covered thighs, easing across his body and hovered over him. She certainly would have allowed him to say whatever he wanted, if he could get the words out. Now, he was speechless, and he wasn't necessarily rejecting her actions.</p><p>Her chest was at his eye-level for just a moment before she made the spontaneous decision to plop herself down onto his lap.</p><p>She observed instantly that his thighs felt a whole lot better than if she was sitting on his Beskar armor. His arms fell over his shoulders and her fingertips began to trace lines on his biceps as her hands began to fall on his upper back. She noted that he almost seemed unsure what to do with his hands as they laid lifelessly at his side. She swore she could see them twitch, tempted to find their way to her body, and she begged silently to herself that he would decide on his own to touch her.</p><p>He lifted his hands suddenly, his grip finding her forearms gently and pulling her hands from behind his back to sit in front of the both of them, between their chests.</p><p>Then his deep voice rang in, as if he had finally decided what his response was to the situation and how he would handle it, and her.</p><p>"Close your eyes."</p><p>Her heart beat rapidly all of a sudden and a smirk turned up on her lips as she kept herself from gawking at the man. Finally, she shut her eyelids, listening to his command.</p><p>Then he spoke again, and his words nearly blew her away more than his first statement. He let go of his grip on her wrists. "Take it off."</p><p>Her hands went numb on command, suddenly afraid now that she was given the opportunity to do what she had wanted to do for months and months: take his helmet off. She kept her eyes sealed shut as she inched her arms up from where he had set them, moving slowly not only because she was nervous, but her hands suddenly seemed nailed down.</p><p>The touch of the Beskar above his throat startled her. It was ice cold, and chilled her to the bone. Not even the heat of his body temperature helped to warm her to the feel of the steel helmet she was in the process of lifting.</p><p>She wanted so strongly, so intensely, to open her eyes at the exact moment she pulled the rest of the helmet off of his head, a major release of weight as it was suddenly empty.</p><p>Mando reached up to grab the helmet from her hands, setting it down on the pillow next to them.</p><p>She had been the bold one before. Now, it was his turn.</p><p>Besides, she couldn't see where anything was with her eyes closed. How could he expect her to take charge?</p><p>Apparently, he hadn't intended for her to be the one to make the first move anyway.</p><p>Because not long after she had taken his helmet off and he had gotten a good, clear look at the sight of the girl with a silk nightgown easing up her thighs as she sat perched on his lap, he had decided that was one that he needed a moment to process. That, and the mere sight of her through pure eyes, not covered by his regular Beskar-shielded vision, was intoxicating.</p><p>Strong hands gripped the sides of her neck as Mando leaned up, and she let out a gasp at the feel of his calloused fingerprints on her soft flesh. He had gotten his prey in his grasp, and now he was going in for the kill.</p><p>His soft, chapped lips attacked hers like he anticipated the world would end at any moment. She wasn't ready for that, but she adapted quickly, moving her own lips in-sync with his as she readjusted her seat on top of him, lifting her bottom off of him and she made her way to her knees, comfortably meeting his eye-level with her own eyes still shut tight as he sat up more and more at the need to touch every inch of her body.</p><p>Their second kiss had been a sharp contrast to the first. Back on Nevarro, he was dying and she had kissed him to save him. This time, here, now, this...</p><p>It was inexplicable.</p><p>Exhilarating.</p><p>Intoxicating.</p><p>He had jumbled up the hem of her nightgown and it rested at the very top of her legs, mere millimeters away from the treasure beneath.</p><p>His steady hands roamed down her shoulder blades, pushing his way past the blockade of silk, painting pictures down her spine and she hummed at the sensation of his warm fingertips running over her firm skin.</p><p>She was trying to drink him in, draping her arms around his neck and clasping behind his head, pulling him closer to her, trapping him in her hold.</p><p>The mere thrill of his hands finally being on her body had made her almost numb for a moment. She trembled fluttery as his hands made their way to her the tops of her thighs, and she nearly squealed as he boldly adjusted her legs around his middle, pulling her closer into him if that was even possible.</p><p>She felt the print of him on the inside of her thigh, layered behind his pants and the layer of silk that had jumbled up between her legs, but that stiff part of him leaving a mark on her groin was sealing an imprint on her very being.</p><p>Shivering at the overwhelming passion of the interaction between them, she ran her fingers through his hair and let her left hand trail down his front, engraving her touch on his chest and making her way down further as he gulped down the taste of her.</p><p>Letting go of the handful of hair she had in her grasp and moving her quick hands to the hem of his shirt, she attempted to pull it up, the only barrier being their lips mended together.</p><p>She released her mouth from his, not wasting a moment as her lips found his chest and her hands found his muscled arms, pushing him back against the bedframe with her right arm, leaning back onto his legs as she crawled further down, leaving a trail of kisses behind her.</p><p>He let out a groan, a sharp contrast to the regularly irritated noise that came out of him. This was a much different, more guttural sound. She grinned underneath her puckered lips as she maintained her mission of running her mouth all over his body.</p><p>He caressed the sides of her hips, departing his touch only when she began to make her way down his body. His hands found her hair and his palms held the sides of her head, as she inched down further and further, her path finally reaching that central part of him.</p><p>Lifting her hand slowly from its position on his wrist, she traced soft fingertips over the swelling bulge in his pants, gasping softly at the feel of him, that coveted part of him she had shielded her wonders about. Now, she was finally there and all her questions were being answered.</p><p>He inhaled sharply as her fingers begin to dig further, feeling the exploring palm of her, and finally her hand wrap itself around the length of him.</p><p>As he exhaled shakily, his grip loosening in her hair as he channeled all his focus to the sudden relief he was feeling, Cerelia nearly imploded at the heat gathering inside of her.</p><p>It made sense Mando wouldn't be a talkative lover, but she hadn't anticipated him even making sounds like the ones that were coming out of him, the echoes landing straight in her core and only making her want to rile him up even more.</p><p>She hadn't built a steady rhythm yet, only teasingly moving her hand slow and calculated as she wondered what the expression on his face was.</p><p>She tried to clasp her fingertips around him, but the width of the member in her grasp was too much for that. Mando let out another shaky breath as she cinched her fingers around him tightly.</p><p>It was quite an odd feeling, sitting with her eyes shut as she leisurely stroked the softly grunting Mandalorian underneath her as she sat perched on the silky bed of her childhood. It was certainly a situation she never anticipated.</p><p>She considered telling Mando to put a sack over his head so she could see what she was doing, what she was touching. Not that she was serious, but it would certainly be a funny sight. And his reaction to that suggestion would be one she wanted to witness.</p><p>Mando was otherwise distracted, likely unconcerned of her seeing his face at the moment, alternating between grunts and groans of pleasure as she continued to slowly stroke him.</p><p>As she boldly decided it was time to quit teasing him and finally escalate the situation further, his hands found wrists before she could even lift them to his waistband.</p><p>He let out a soft grunt before he spoke, and that only made Cerelia want to move faster. "Are you sure?"</p><p>She wanted to flat-out tell him "Duh.", but she preferred to be able to see his reaction when she said something like that. Still, she tilted her head in question at him. "Are you... not?"</p><p>He gulped again, his grip becoming firm as his hands wrapped around her forearm.</p><p>"I just don't want to.. force you to do anything you don't have to."</p><p>She nearly rolled her eyes underneath him, but instead lifted her bottom off of where it had been near his knees and set down back on his lap where she was before, her core erupting at the hard length of him jutting into her covered flesh.</p><p>Wrapping her arms over his shoulders and clasping them as she had done before, she got as close to his face as she could possibly be, feeling the soft pulse of air coming out of his nose, and spoke softly.</p><p>"I'm the one who climbed on top of you," she reminded, a seductive hint in the whisper that met the warm skin of his face. "Remember?"</p><p>More seriously, after somehow coming even closer to him than she was before, she continued. "Do you think I would have done that if I didn't want us to be doing <em>exactly</em> what we're doing right now?"</p><p>Mando licked his lips suddenly and she could nearly taste him as she hovered over him in his lap, mere moments from deciding to go ahead and grind that sensitive part of her into the member ready to pierce into her flesh the moment her gown slipped high enough. He'd figure out quickly then what she was sure about. But she waited for his response.</p><p>And she would be kept waiting.</p><p>Panic soared through her veins as a familiar noise filled the tense room.</p><p>She heard the cooing from a mile away as the hiss of the opening of the cradle filled the room and she nearly shrieked as she jumped off of Mando and nearly landed on the other side of the room.</p><p>The kid's soft whines continued and Cerelia had no choice other than to walk over to his pod and lift the sleepy child into her arms, carrying him over to the bed where Mando was collecting himself and trying to regain his calm composure.</p><p>She was suddenly grateful that they had not managed to remove any clothes, considering the hassle it would have taken to scramble for their clothes before going over to the kid.</p><p>Cerelia made sure not to look anywhere near Mando, closing her eyes when she was faced in his direction. Although it would have been funny to see him cover his face with a pillow, as she was positive it would be one of the lengths he would go to shield his face from her.</p><p>She nearly stumbled over her own feet as she was trying to make her way back over to the bed without peeking at the man trying to regain his composure and collect himself fully before she and the kid returned to the bed.</p><p>Finding herself grinning, she couldn't help but find it cute how flustered he was following their encounter. Hell, she would be out of breath if she hadn't been so concerned with finding the kid comfort.</p><p>She eventually found the bed, setting the kid down on her pillow and easing into the spot next to him. He laid with his eyes closed, getting comfortable between the two of them.</p><p>Her pillow soothed her quickly into a doze as she situated herself on her side, across from Mando and the kid, with one hand underneath her head and between her pillow, and the other hand extended above the kid toward the top of the bedframe. In a matter of moments, she felt Mando's hand wrap over her own.</p><p>And for the first time in weeks, no, <em>years</em>, Cerelia slept soundly. Without interruption and without terror.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She would have initially claimed that it was the bright light of Lysaria's single sun shining through the broken windows and ripped satin curtains that woke her up from the most peaceful sleep she had experienced in nearly seven years — and although that was a major contribution, it was not entirely the reason. It was another one of her senses that startled awake along with her: not sight, but touch.</p><p>From behind closed eyes, she could almost imagine the face of the man lying across from her. But now, at the present moment, her only focus was on his fingers skimming along her own face.</p><p>They must have rolled over to face each other in the middle of the night. Subconsciously, she wasn't sure of what she did, but out of respect, she would never face him unless he wanted her to. Just in case there was ever a reason she needed to open her eyes. She wouldn't betray his trust like that.</p><p>Her hands could've reached out to touch him if they hadn't been frozen in place underneath her head. Did he realize she was awake now? Did he think she was sleeping, and take it upon himself to do to her what he was too afraid to try when she was awake? Was he as scared of her waking up and finding him doing this, as she was of waking up and ruining this moment forever? What if he never tried it again? What if she frightened him?</p><p>He quite obviously showed himself as a cautious person every waking moment before, but he definitely put it on display the night before. She didn't want to ruin any spontaneous decisions he came up with.</p><p>The two lay across from one another, her with her eyes not having opened from sleep but feeling his rough fingertips trace the features of her face, running skin along skin, bone along bone, painting not with color but with flesh.</p><p>The kid remained sleeping soundly above them.</p><p>Then his hands found hers, and she arched an eyebrow when he began to circle around her fingers, one by one, twisting each lightly from the tip down to her knuckles. She busts out a small laugh, unable to control her curiosity.</p><p>"What in the stars are you doing?" she asked.</p><p>"They're cute." Mando blurted. She could nearly see the embarrassment feel his face, even behind closed eyes. Then he tried to recover his statement, which was one she thought he had no reason to be embarrassed for. She loved when he was sharing his feelings. She loved when he felt comfortable enough to be real with her. "I like the way your skin glows... like the angels my paren- like the angels I heard when I was a kid."</p><p>She didn't even bring up the words he stumbled over. She could make out the word "parents" he tried to hide from her, but she didn't want to intrude on the secrets he wasn't ready to share with her. He would tell her when he was ready, and that was a time he needed to decide. It wasn't up to her.</p><p>"Yours glows too, like bronze." she complimented. It must have been odd seeing her compliment him with her eyes closed. She could hear from the sudden release of breath from him that he was curious of how she knew that. Really, all she had seen of him were his arms in the sleeping clothes and his fingers in his gloves. She smiled at him. "You're not entirely hidden from me. I even saw the back of your neck when we were back on Sakardi. It was the color of gold, just like your arms."</p><p>A light noise left his mouth, a small laugh she could hardly hear but she had indeed heard it. They lay in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say. This was a rare happiness they didn't always find on the Crest.</p><p>It was hard to find joy when they were being chased down by every bounty hunter in the galaxy as well as all that remained of the evil Empire that had wiped out entire planets at their best. She didn't want to know what they were capable of, even at their worst.</p><p>Then Mando broke the silence. "We could stay like this, you know?"</p><p>"What's stopping us?" she questioned. "It's only been a day. We can stay for a while."</p><p>"No," Mando hesitated, clearing his throat. He had clearly wanted her to pick up on what he was saying the first time, but it was good for him to have to express his own thoughts and really understand what he was saying. "I mean, like... stay."</p><p>Cerelia smiled again, and he melted at the sight of her without being shielded by his helmet.</p><p>"I won't argue with that," she muttered.</p><p>"That's a first." Mando quipped, and she reached over the kid gently and slapped his arm in response.</p><p>They laughed softly at each other, trying not to wake the baby but also trying to soak up every ounce of happiness this moment was giving them.</p><p>"Well, if it's just going to be us," Cerelia trailed off, sitting up on her elbow with her eyes still sealed tightly. "Can I open my eyes, then?"</p><p>It was a joke. He could tell just from her tone as well as the slight chuckle in her voice after she had finished speaking. But as he observed every feature on her face and every strand of her hand and every vein on her skin, he wasn't sure about anything anymore.</p><p>"... That's up to you."</p><p>Cerelia was instantly winded at his response and she found herself second-guessing every thought that trailed through her mind. It would be so easy to say yes, to beg him to let her open her eyes, to keep the helmet off when only she was around. He would relent soon enough. Hell, he seemed to be willing to do it now.</p><p>But that wasn't what he wanted.</p><p>One night couldn't change a man's honor that had lasted him a lifetime.</p><p>She was throwing him off guard apparently, and that wasn't fair. She needed to think for him. As righteous as that made her sound, she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't ready to let that part of him go yet.</p><p>On the other side, maybe it was her own insecurity that made her believe she didn't deserve to be the one to make him betray his culture.</p><p>Either way, that wasn't something she could make him do.</p><p>"No," she said, softly, wishing she had the strength to tell him otherwise, to shift her words around and ask him to do this for her. But she had to remind herself: it wasn't about her. It was Mando's choice. "No. That's not up to me."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this ended soooo abruptly, but I am so sleepy and I don't wanna finish this scene with gibberish! Hopefully the steamy scene made up for it!</p><p>SO, there's literally like another chapter left for 8.5, but hopefully I'll have it finished after I wake up tomorrow, so there will be a part 3 to this chapter :((</p><p>As always, let me know if you find any errors and let me know how you liked this chapter! Love you all, and thank you for being so patient with me through it all! </p><p>See you soon!!!! -- Brooklyn &lt;3333</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. [8.5.3]</h2></a>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When they woke up after an unbelievably peaceful night of sleep, which had been quite a stark contrast to how their night had begun before their excursions — or at least, an attempt at one — had been interrupted, it was overwhelming calm.</p><p>It was strange, to say the least.</p><p>There was no humming of the engine of the Crest, no creaking parts of the old ship at every given movement made. There was no galaxy beneath them, with stars and meteors and planets waiting in their path.</p><p>The only thing surrounding them was silk and sunlight.</p><p>They only lay across from one another, speaking softly, and holding hands with the kid sleeping peacefully unbothered between them.</p><p>She wasn't sure if it was remaining adrenaline from the night before, or a boost of confidence in herself that Mando had added to as he spoke to her, rubbing her open palm softly in between his large fingers, but she felt a rush of capability.</p><p>She was feeling brave. In fact, she was feeling quite unstoppable.</p><p>What would the Empire do if they came, invade Lysaria for the second time?</p><p>What would they burn, the flameless embers of the ash they had already burnt to a crisp? What would they take that had not already been stolen from her? What would they destroy that had not already perished?</p><p>They had no control over her here, because they had already taken everything. They had taken her father first when he had gone to find Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, then her siblings Nadi and Win had gone to Hoth with the Rebellion as a result, then her people when the TIE fighters arrived, and then finally, her mother when Vader killed her in cold blood.</p><p>This place was built by memories, and seeing it destroyed only made the sweet past feel replaced by the empty present.</p><p>She could almost feel her attachment to her home planet weaken with each of her evasive thoughts. Once, it had meant everything to her. Not because of the infrastructure or because of the parties they had thrown, but because of the people she had.</p><p>Now, all that remained were the memories of time past and those had since been covered with ashes, as everything else had been.</p><p>"I'm ready."</p><p>"What? Ready for what?" Mando questioned, and she could nearly hear the sudden panic in his voice. Even when he hadn't known he wasn’t ready to do that yet, she had. She was glad of her choice now. "To open your eyes?"</p><p>"No," she corrected, giving him a small bit of clarity before she continued. Behind closed eyes, she smiled at the thought of overcoming her fears and her trauma. Beside her, Mando nodded, awaiting her answer. "I'm ready to go to the Sanctuary."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She was going to be honest with herself, for once.</p><p>The thought of going back to the Sanctuary scared her more than anything ever could have. It wasn't just a building any longer. It wasn't just the place she had formed so many memories and cherished nearly more than any other place back home.</p><p>It was the place that her mother died.</p><p>It was tainted ground. It wasn't a place she ever imagined she could be happy again.</p><p>Even her thoughts that evoked the past, even the moments she found herself reminded her of times that were different and happier when she viewed the Sanctuary as her favorite place in the galaxy couldn't correct the image she had of it now.</p><p>All she could picture was her mother's body falling to the golden pavement after Darth Vader had slashed his lightsaber through her.</p><p>It was an image she never wanted to picture, but it was one that would never escape her mind, even if she hadn't been present when it happened. Just the knowledge of the truth had haunted her for the past seven years, and it wasn't easy to let go.</p><p>But she had to.</p><p>The Sanctuary was the setting of some of the most eventful moments of her entire life. It wasn't something she could just expel from her mind.</p><p>She had been at her mother’s side when they got the news of her father. The Sanctuary had been filled with Masters, Padawans, and Younglings alike, all attempting to ease their minds away from the fear of having both one of their leaders and one of their Princesses going after the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader on his Star Destroyer. Nadi had at least sent them a hologram with vague plans of what they were doing, which only caused their mother to demand to speak to their father, who had explained what he was doing to her. Mercilé had begged her husband to come home. But she knew.</p><p>She knew the moment he got onto his ship and left Lysaria behind that he was gone for good. It would be the last time he left.</p><p>But she also knew that he was as stubborn as her. He knew what he was doing, and he knew what his fate would be.</p><p>Mercilé had demanded to speak with Obi-Wan alone after that. She had politely but urgently shooed the others out of the Sanctuary and Cerelia hadn’t known then, but she understood why now. She was saying goodbye.</p><p>Maybe she was begging for him to come back, but surely she had figured out his plan by that time. She was telling him how much she loved him, letting him know before he took his final breath when he collided with the Sith Lord.</p><p>Their relationship kinda reminded her of her own relationship with Mando, although she hoped with all her heart their stories didn’t end the same. It was a shame her parents couldn’t have a long life together, but they had spent nearly twenty peaceful years together with their children, and they had gotten all the good moments out of it.</p><p>Her mother had fallen to her knees only a few hours later, shoulders shaking and throat gasping for air behind her heavy sobs.</p><p>And that’s when Cerelia’s theory had been confirmed.</p><p>She had many regrets after that, but there were only two that haunted her every move. First, she wished she had spoken to her father before he left Lysaria. She hoped and hoped that she would have been able to talk him out of leaving, but each night as she replayed the possibilities over in her dreams/head, every time ended the same: her father leaving them behind and going to confront Vader.</p><p>Secondly, another regret that she confronted every night, was that she hadn’t been the one to kill Darth Vader. She had spent a majority of her best dreams being the one who struck him down as he begged for mercy. She had never seen the man in person, never even heard his voice, but she hated him more than any being that had ever crossed the galaxy.</p><p>Her only hope was that he had died slowly and painfully, as her mother did when he came for her.</p><p>At least, that’s what she assumed. Darth Vader wouldn’t have had the mercy to kill her mother quickly. He would have made her suffer.</p><p>He was as evil as they came, and nothing could ever change that. Not in her mind.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The walk from her room to the Sanctuary was a long one, partly because it was a lengthy distance in itself, nearly halfway across the kingdom, and partly because she was dreading her return to the building more and more with each of her footsteps.</p><p>Her feet felt as if they weighed a ton each, and the only thing keeping her going was the reminder that Mando was trecking slowly behind, diagonal to her as the kid floated beside her and in front of him.</p><p>They were following her, considering she was the one who knew where the Sanctuary was located, and that responsibility was the only reason she hadn’t turned around and rushed back to the safety of her room.</p><p>The Sanctuary was an entirely different building than the castle, though they were fairly close to one another.</p><p>She passed by the courtyard, The Square, they had affectionately named it, where much of their outdoor play occurred, and she noticed the new statues in the distance, presumably recent memorials of those lost during the Invasion.</p><p>Cerelia couldn’t bring herself to do more than glance out of the corner of her eye at The Square.</p><p>She wasn’t quite there yet.</p><p>She would need to see how the Sanctuary went first.</p><p>Her sudden bravery had apparently begun to edge close to the bottom of the hourglass. It was running out more and more as they stepped closer toward the large, rounded building.</p><p>The big, wide double doors to the Sanctuary were, like all of the other doors in the kingdom, made of gold. Her mother had come to detest the material, after seeing so much of it. She couldn't help what her ancestors had built, but after seeing the treatment of some civilizations in the galaxy and seeing firsthand what her closest friend, Dahlil, had gone through as a slave, it disgusted her to think how privileged she lived even on the bones of those who had built it.</p><p>She had done as much as she could in the Clone Wars to help save the galaxy, and afterward in her work to assist the Rebellion against the Empire, but she always held a guilt in her heart that she still hadn't done enough.</p><p>Cerelia felt that now, too.</p><p>They were out hiding in the ruins of Lysaria while others were out there suffering. Maggy was out there looking for her son, Nadi was out there in captivity somewhere, Moff Gideon was surely out doing something unsatisfactory that would no doubt negatively affect someone, if not many people, in the galaxy.</p><p>She couldn't deny, though, that it felt nice to relax for a brief while after a long seven years on the run.</p><p>Passing the courtyard, walking the open sidewalk, breathing in the somewhat fresh but slightly smoky air, Cerelia considered stopping and turning back.</p><p>But as they came to a halt in front of those large golden doors, her feet couldn't even consider moving. It was like her whole body was numb. Even her jaw wouldn't allow her to speak. <em>That was a first, </em>she thought, as her mind seemed to be the only working function of her whole being. She sighed, internally. <em>Great, now I sound like Mando.</em></p><p>The kid floated stationary in his cradle as Mando pressed one of the controls on his wrist.</p><p>They stood, waiting. Waiting for her to make a move.</p><p>The two of them obviously weren't trying to rush her, but the overbearing silence and the unintentional awkwardness in Mando's body language made her want to cower away. Either that, or just push into the doors and strut in like she had never left.</p><p>That would not be the case, though.</p><p>She stood, quiet and unmoving with shifty eyes as she contemplating closing her eyes and pretending she was halfway across the galaxy.</p><p>"Cee?" Mando spoke, and he likely hadn't intended for it to sound like a question, but it had. He shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to approach the situation. It wasn't like this was a situation one could prepare for.</p><p>How often did a runaway princess come back home to her destroyed planet and willingly go back into the room where her mother was killed by a Sith Lord?</p><p>It didn't seem like a very common problem.</p><p>"I know, buckethead." she said softly to him, affectionately, letting him know that there wasn't anything he had to say. There was nothing he could say that would make her feel any better about it, it seemed. There were no inspiring words that could convince her more than her own heart.</p><p>And this needed to be something she did on her own.</p><p>The same way with his helmet. Some things were best dealt with alone.</p><p>Not that comfort wasn't encouraged.</p><p>But Mando wasn't one who was naturally inspired to comfort others. It would only make him more uncomfortable than it already was, and it wasn't necessary. She appreciated it, but his anxiety only built on her own.</p><p>This was just something she needed to overcome. She needed to just rip the metaphorical bandage off.</p><p>And that's exactly what she was going to force herself to do.</p><p>Her fingers wrapped around the thick handles of the heavy doors, and pulled back with all of her might, and the bright light of the hundreds of windows in the Sanctuary shone through as the doors opened wide.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><em>“Ah, Ceri. You’re back! Welcome home.”</em> her mother’s calm voice greeted as she entered the wide, gold-plated doors of the Sanctuary. <em>“We’ve been waiting for you.”</em></p><p>The most comforting words she ever imagined she could hear had been ones which tore a hole in her heart quicker than any others. For a moment - only a moment - she had been fooled.</p><p>But then reality sunk its sharp claws deep into her spirit, pulling her back into its grasp.</p><p>It was only a memory she was seeing.</p><p>It was a cruel joke. To place her most cherished memories and to twist them so wickedly. There wasn't anything left of her past and her present that hadn’t been tainted twice over.</p><p><em>"It took you long enough, Cer!" Nadi exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically as she approached her sister.</em> <em>"We've been waiting for hours!"</em></p><p>
  <em>"That's not true.” her mother defended, sending a disciplined eye over toward her oldest daughter as she walked over to hug Cerelia. “We've only been waiting for half that, at most. Still, you did take longer than expected. Did everything go alright?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mercilé kissed her atop the head, and gestured for her to take a seat where she normally did.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Any trouble in the mountains, darling?" Obi-Wan questioned as he stood to kiss her atop the temple. Cerelia leaned into his quick embrace. She was mostly surprised that he hadn’t added a snarky comment on her neglect of time, but she was sure he had more in store than just not mentioning it. That wasn’t totally in his character. No bad deed goes unmentioned, according to Obi-Wan Kenobi.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"None at all, Papa.” Cerelia assured. “Ask Elkin. We just got a little caught up in the wilderness. You know how the weeds grow this time of year.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She bit her words for a moment, realizing her over-explanation of what she had been doing made her look guilty. She hoped no one would notice, but she knew better.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her family wasn’t one that missed an opportunity to pick on one another, all in good fun.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oooo!" Win interrupted, loudly, aiming an accusing finger toward his sister. "Ceri and Elkin sitting in the treetops, with a love as sweet as dewdrops-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, stop it!" Young Cerelia hid her face in her hands, embarrassed at the insinuation that she and Elkin had been doing anything other than exploring the sweet grasses of the tall green hills. If she was being honest, she would've mentioned the two of them fell asleep and lost track of time. But she was mostly concerned about not tarnishing her good name.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Besides, Elkin was a soldier a few years older than her, and he was far too stoic for her liking.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Not at all who she imagined herself ending up with when that day came. She imagined a diplomat's son of some sort, someone worthy enough of a Princess second-in-line to the throne. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She expected him to be a brick wall, not necessarily in hiding emotions, but in pure boringness. She expected not to love him at all. She never anticipated having a love like her parents did. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was just unrealistic. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hush now, Win.” Mercilé scolded lightly, trying to hold back the smile forming on her lips in order not to embarrass her daughter any further. It was cute, how seriously Cerelia took something as little as overstaying a visit to the mountains. Even if she had been having a little picnic with Elkin, it was nothing to be defensive over.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But Mercilé knew well how young girls thought at that age.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She had been the same with Obi-Wan once. Hell, she was still that way. But that was to the credit of her husband keeping her feeling so young at heart.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't worry, Ceri.” Nadi spoke, loudly and outwardly with the same wide personality she usually had. She was mocking her sister, but that wasn’t unusual either. After all, what are big sisters for? “I had a crush on Elkin once, too. But he told me I was too immature for him, whatever that means. I'm as mature as one can get!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Nadi, the Younglings are more mature than you, I'm afraid," Obi-Wan informed his oldest daughter. Nadi frowned quickly before forgetting his words and awaiting more of their wisecracks to add onto.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I do not have a crush on Elkin!” Cerelia cried out, defensively. She shrugged her shoulders, dramatically. “We were only scanning the mountains for leftover crops. You are the ones that suggested he escort me!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Darling, we are only teasing!” Mercilé couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter’s overreaction.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We're only joking! It's what you get after being late for story night! You know that is our only rule: never, ever be late for story night!" Nadi exclaimed, nudging her younger sister slightly, picking with her as they set down in a circle around their parents. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Cerelia and Nadi continued to argue amongst one another with Win adding his own opinion until the walls echoed loudly with the noises of their usual banter.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mercilé rubbed her temples and sighed before attempting to break up their quarrel. "Alright, settle down, children!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Obi-Wan clasped his hands together and put them up to his beard in question, then released them, to add dramatic effect as his kids sat anxiously awaiting what he was going to say. He finally gestured toward his children. "Okay, what have you learned this week in your lessons? Who wants to go first?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What if we skip our lesson this week?" Win questioned, innocently. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, please, Papa!" Cerelia begged, putting her hands together and getting up to her knees from where she had been sitting on them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, children." Obi-Wan denied with a smirk, knowing soon enough he would relent to them. But he took joy in riling them up. It was a joy to him. "You know the agreement we have. We tell you a story, and you have to answer some of the questions from your lessons this week." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nadi inconspicuously batted her eyes and pouted her lips. "Can we hear the story first this time?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Nadi-" he objected, theatrically. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"She's right, Papa. It will give us the incentive to do even better during our lesson! Tell us! Tell us!" Cerelia began to chant, pleading with him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Tell us! Tell us!" Win joined in.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mercilé finally sighed once again, nudging her husband beside her. "Obi-Wan…" </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, alright!" Obi-Wan huffed, as if he hadn't intended to do as they asked to begin with. If he was going to bend to their pleading, he was at least going to have some fun with it first. "What would you like to hear this time? My mission on Pijal with your great uncle Qui-Gon when I was only a Padawan? Or your mother's time here before she realized I was the man of her most-cherished dreams? What will it be?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You may want to work on your approach to modesty, my love. You seem a bit - what's the word? Oh, right! - arrogant." Mercilé smiled knowingly at her husband, who threw a quick wink in her direction at his side.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Papa,” Little Win began. “Can you tell us the story of how you and mama met?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The children looked at each other star-struck, then at their parents nearly jumping with anticipation to hear the story they had wanted to hear for years. They had, of course, heard different renditions, but they wanted to hear every possible perspective of their parents' tales. It was one of their favorite activities to do as a family: storytime. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They noticed their parents look at one another, with wide, unsure eyes. Finally, they each sighed softly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Are you sure you want to tell them?” Obi-Wan inquires of his wife, unsure. Mercilé nods with a soft grin, as she awaits the reaction of her children to the story her husband was preparing to tell. It was a wild one, no matter which way he told it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>They had an epic love, and an epic story to match it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Okay, well, I was just a brand new Padawan learner at the time and your mother was just a Youngling, although she was quite spunky for her age." The children were staring up at him in amazement, drawn to every syllable he spoke. It was as if he was reading them a fairytale. He had to embellish some of it, if he was being honest, but that was no problem for Obi-Wan. “And she was the prettiest little girl in the whole galaxy, only rivaled now by my girls, of course.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Be honest, father," Nadi interjected, sending a mischievous glance over to her sister. "Who’s the prettiest?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“He won’t say," Cerelia combatted, used to rivaling the quick wit of her sister. "Only to spare your feelings!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hush now, girls. You are both equally beautiful.” Mercilé kept the peace.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"She's only being nice, Ceri. Either way, I'm sure Elkin appreciates your personality." Nadi could barely finish speaking the words coming out of her mouth without bursting into laughter, as Ceri swung a wild arm at her, which she avoided by ducking out of the way.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Enough, girls." Obi-Wan brought the attention back to him, before glancing over at his wife with a cheeky smirk. He turned to her. "Care to add, Mercy?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course, I would, darling," Mercilé said, thinking for a moment before giggling to herself and looking down at her children with a wide, beaming expression as her cheeks began to turn red from laughter. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Your father had a Padawan braid of his own,” Mercilé laughed, reaching over to stroke Obi-Wan's cheek, softly and teasingly. He smiled close-mouthed as he reminisced on the moments of the past, as well as cherished how happy it made his wife at the mere thought of him. “And his Jedi robes were three sizes too big for him.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Your mother is far too dramatic, I’m afraid," Obi-Wan interjected. He moved his glance from her to his children."I’m sure she won’t tell you of how insufferable she was when the two of us reacquainted at the Jedi Temple. She was a little ball of fury, unable to follow the rules even if she was being paid to do so! And quite uptight when questioned about it, if I do say so!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Uptight, you say?" Mercilé guffawed, maintaining the big smile that had ceased to leave her face. She shoved his arm softly. "You are one to talk, Obi-Wan Kenobi!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Obi-Wan nodded, a sly grin hidden on the thin lips underneath his facial hair. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She turned once again to look down at her children sitting criss-cross in front of them. She turned her nose up, dramatically, before continuing."Your father was the most pretentious boy-scout the Jedi Order ever stumbled upon! He followed every rule, down to ironing his undergarments. He only loosened up after he fell so deeply in love with yours truly." </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Obi-Wan huffed slightly, resisting getting too bold with her in front of the children. Besides, he loved seeing the cheeky little grin form on his wife's lips when she believed she had gotten one over on him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her grin only grew when she saw him bite his lip slightly, keeping his mouth shut as he allowed her to tease him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Obi-Wan, my love, are you getting embarrassed?” she reached over to grab his arm in fake concern. The expression that remained let him know, even though he already knew because he had spent nearly every day of the last thirty-five years with her, that she was pulling his leg.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“On the contrary, my dear. I quite enjoy your mocking of me.” Obi-Wan's gaze met his wife's face, nearly forgetting the children sat criss-cross at their feet. “You seem to forget I observed nearly all of your trials and I know your most trivial, humiliating moments better than anyone."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mercilé gasped softly, her eyes lost in the ones she had spent half of her life studying. “Would you stoop that low?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, absolutely.” he grinned, wickedly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Careful now, Kenobi." she advised, tilting her chin up at the man beside her. "I have quite a lot of tricks of my sleeve.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You know, that name belongs to you now too, darling. Shouldn't we-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mercilé wiggled her eyebrows, suggestively. “Are you begging for mercy, in your own little way?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>All Obi-Wan could see was the ocean blue of her irises and the sweetness of her smile, even as she teased him. He had no other option. He never had. “I surrender.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She smiled wider, if that was even possible. “You were always good at that.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  
</p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Even if the sudden memory had not knocked the wind out of her, the image of the inside of the building she knew best in her days back home certainly did.</p><p>The Sanctuary was exactly how she had remembered it.</p><p>The walls were nearly thirty feet high, and, predictably, every inch of the interior was built in gold, layered in gold, and then covered in gold.</p><p>The most refreshing feature of the whole room was the training platforms plated in a gray steel that sharply contrasted the bright bronze color that controlled the theme.</p><p>The occasional detailing of marble and steel neutralized the sheer overwhelmingness of the combination of the golden tiles on each wall and the sunlight shining through the ridiculously large windows trailing from the roof down to the walls.</p><p>The Invasion hadn't left the Sanctuary untouched, by any means. Nearly half of the windows were shattered, littering the occasionally missed shard of glass that the remaining civilians must have missed when they attempted to clean the kingdom up.</p><p>It might have been the time spent away that heightened her senses, but…</p><p>It was even more breathtaking now than it had ever been.</p><p>Even after all the destruction.</p><p>Cerelia was too in awe of the place she had been so afraid of returning to, to notice Mando glancing around the room curiously, stepping slowly and awkwardly about the large floor as he was clearly unsure of how to react to any of this.</p><p>When he noticed her staring at him instead of the scenery, he cleared his throat.</p><p>“You trained here?” he questioned, making conversation as best he could. What else was he to say? He felt like he was intruding on a personal moment. He was trying his best to prevent being uncomfortable. “Your Jedi training, I mean.”</p><p>“Yes,” Cerelia smiled suddenly, happy with his interest in her time before they met. Maybe he would understand why she was so curious about his backstory. “We trained here. Every day, almost.”</p><p>She reminisced, eyes glowing with memories of the past as she gazed around at the prized walls. She then cleared her own throat, turning back to glance at Mando. She wished she could see his face, know what he was thinking, to understand him. But he was practically unreadable.</p><p>Especially when his body language was tense.</p><p>“I imagine you had something like it on Mandalore.” she spoke, unsure if that was true or not. If she was being honest, she didn't really know anything at all about the Mandalorian culture. Especially not the brand of them that couldn't take off their helmets.</p><p>The only ones she'd known only ever put the helmets on when they were in battle.</p><p>“Yeah…" Mando hesitated, and she wondered if his expression indicated he was thinking back to a time before. It would be a whole lot easier to know if she could only see him. That wasn't too much to ask. She was sure, at this point, he would be more willing to risk his life for her than show her his face. It was a warped honor system, but it was their culture. Maybe he thought her culture was weird. Even then, she didn't know, because other than him glancing around the Sanctuary curiously, she had no idea what he was thinking. "Something like it.”</p><p>She observed the room, remembering what they had spent each day doing in it, for fun and for trials. No matter if the sun was shining bright or the skies were dropping rain, they would go to the Sanctuary to spar with one another.</p><p>"You know what we should do?" she asked, a sudden burst of energy flooding through her warm veins.</p><p>Mando hesitated, then muttered when he spoke. "I'm not sure I want to know."</p><p>"Sure, you do," she reassured. "We should do something to let off some steam, to clear our minds."</p><p>She could practically hear Mando's eyes bulge out underneath his helmet as she processed the words that had come out of her mouth. She nearly facepalmed.</p><p>"Not that, laser-brain." she clarified, with a quick roll of her eyes. "I meant.. training."</p><p>She remembered beating Nadi in lightsaber combat, which was quite an accomplishment due to Nadi being the older trainee. Nadi had never really taken it seriously, though. She was only interested in fun and chaos, and didn't mind when one necessitated the other to occur.</p><p>She remembered sparring with her father. Obi-Wan had never taken it easy on her. He wanted to challenge her as best she could, and he had been the reason she could defend herself now. He was saving her, even after he had been gone for nearly a decade.</p><p>She remembered her mother teaching her to counter a double-bladed weapon. Mercilé had stopped nearly every minute to make sure her daughter was okay before continuing. Cerelia had learned quickly how to get the upperhand on her mother. On few occasions, she had pretended to be hurt only to knock her mother down and claim the win. Her mother had been offended at first then grinned at her daughter's quickness. "That's my girl." she had complimented.</p><p>She even remembered Win begging her to train with him. He hadn't been Force-sensitive, but Cerelia had occasionally given him a wooden staff and let him get a few hits on her and make him believe he had won. He had been thrilled by it, and she saw no benefit in crushing his dreams, so she raised his hand in victory and gave him the win for the day.</p><p>“I’ll use a stick if you would like to use the staff.” Cerelia offered. Her insistent smile was one Mando couldn't ignore, and finally, eventually, he sighed loudly and grabbed the staff she had retrieved from her hand.</p><p>“Fine,” he grumbled.</p><p>“Oh, my stars, I forgot!” she exclaimed suddenly, and Mando’s eyebrows furrowed underneath his helmet as he watched the girl practically sprint over to a random corner of one of the large walls in the Sanctuary, as if she knew the exact spot where she was running to and exactly why she was running to it.</p><p>She tapped the wall and Mando found himself even more confused.</p><p>Until a small section of the wall caved in on itself and Cerelia squealed knowingly at whatever object was left in a hidden compartment inside the walls of this place.</p><p>He stepped closer to get a peek at it, which wasn’t necessary because not a second later, she had pulled out the object and put it on full display out toward him.</p><p>It was the familiar silver hilt of a lightsaber.</p><p>"Nope." Mando flatly spoke, a mere pout of her lips away from crossing his arms over his chest.</p><p>Cerelia scoffed at him.</p><p>“You’re a hotshot Mandalorian with a set of steel armor that is practically impenetrable, and you’re telling me you’re afraid of a lightsaber?” she questioned him, bending her eyebrows in curiosity as she watched him.</p><p>“I’m not afraid,” Mando replied with a grumble. “I’m just not stupid.”</p><p>“I mean, you have cause to be afraid considering who’s wielding the other one.” She spoke, confidently and she laughed as he scoffed again underneath his helmet. “But it sounds a bit silly, when you say it like that.”</p><p>“You’re not accidentally chopping one of my limbs off,” Mando told her, in refusal.</p><p>“Oh, come on, scaredy cat!” she persisted, knocking her fist on his steel-covered body and it remained unscathed. “You have on Beskar armor.”</p><p>“You’ve had years of training.” Mando retorted.</p><p>“So have you.” she reminded. “But you might catch up to me, if you train with me.”</p><p>When Mando remained silent, she decided to let it go. She wasn’t going to force him, no matter how stubborn he was. She began to put the staff back in its place on the rack on the wall.</p><p>“Alright.” he huffed, and she whipped her head around quickly with a grin.</p><p>“You won’t regret this!” she beamed. “I won’t hurt you. You just have to trust me.”</p><p>"I already said I'll do it, don't make me change my mind," Mando grumbled again.</p><p>She handed him the lightsaber in her hand, and he took it slowly as she retrieved the weapon at her belt. She pulled the Bronzesaber out and walked backward away from Mando.</p><p>She waited for him to ignite the blue lightsaber before igniting the lightsaber in her hand. They stood a fair distance apart, and both of them paced around, waiting for the other to make a move.</p><p>Cerelia initiated, to begin with, slowly so as not to scare him.</p><p>He responded by combatting her swing with the lightsaber in his hands. Seeing how he was seemingly pleased with how easy it was to block a slow swing, she smiled at him.</p><p>Then she lifted the lightsaber and swung harder.</p><p>He blocked it again.</p><p>She pulled back, and swung sideways instead of over. She swiped at him and he moved backward, quick on his feet.</p><p>She could tell he was holding back, partially because he didn't want to recklessly hurt her and he's scared of the unfamiliar weapon. She understood his hesitance, somewhat, but she wanted to reaffirm that he didn't have to worry about hurting her. He could never hurt her, even if he tried.</p><p>“Don’t take it easy on me,” she told him, as she pulled back entirely and began to pace around him. “Not if we want to defeat the Empire.”</p><p>“I didn’t sign up for lightsaber warfare.”</p><p>“I’m sure you learned at some point in your time as a Mandalorian bounty hunter that it’s best to be prepared for anything,” she smirked at him, setting her stance again.</p><p>She swung again, again and again, pushing him backward until he stumbled to the ground.</p><p>She thought that a bounty hunter who had hundreds of weapons in his inventory would figure out how to use any weapon he got his hands on, and surely Mando would be a great lightsaber duelist if he wasn't afraid of hurting her.</p><p>So she responded by letting him know that, if anything, he should be afraid of her hurting him.</p><p>He stumbled backward, unigniting the weapon in his hand and tripping over his own feet. Cerelia assumed he had truly been afraid of the lightsaber. She hadn't really considered that he hadn't known what Jedi were before she met him, so therefore he probably hadn't seen any lightsabers before.</p><p>Mando laid on the ground, flat on his back as she waded over to him.</p><p>She held the lightsaber to his chest, a fair distance away but still in that direction. He has no reason to fear her, and she’s only joking anyway. But it mimics many other times in which she wasn’t joking, and she had given the person a great reason to fear her.</p><p>“Do you yield?” she questioned with a small smirk rising to the corner of her lips.</p><p>He lightly lifted his hands in defense, without muttering a word, if only a light grunt.</p><p>“Looks like I win.” she mocked.</p><p>She unignited the Bronzesaber and sheathed it back into the holster at her belt, taking her eyes off of Mando for a split second.</p><p>And then suddenly, she was flat on her back.</p><p>In a moment of sheer unexpectedness, Mando had swiped her leg from underneath her, dropping her flat on the ground next to him.</p><p>He popped up quickly, aiming the bare hilt of the lightsaber down at her, almost mockingly.</p><p>“Surrender to me.” he said, with a low pitch in his tone that made any mocking he was attempting to do send waves of fire straight to her core.</p><p>“Ooo, Mando.” she returned his same energy, with a grin on her face as she laid on the ground. “You know exactly what to say to make a girl...” she trailed off, quickly spiking her own leg underneath his knee, bending him down to the ground quickly. She maneuvered fast, wrapping the wooden staff she had since flown into her palm, standing firmly over Mando’s kneeled body from behind, with the practice weapon wrapped around his throat, as closely as his helmet would allow it.</p><p>“I don’t think so, <em>buckethead</em>.” she smirked down at him.</p><p>“What did you say, Princess?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he had somehow grabbed her from reaching his arms behind him and flipped her over him, so that now her back was flat on the ground in front of him and he knelt over her.</p><p>“I win.”</p><p>Breathlessly, laying on the ground with nothing but her own heart beating out of her chest, with a fiery desire built up in her abdomen that was nearly impossible to ignore, she couldn’t help but agree with his statement.</p><p>But she wasn't going to give up so easily.</p><p>She rushed to her feet once again, igniting the Bronzesaber quickly and swinging it back around toward him and he met it with the swing of the blue lightsaber, twisting his arms and slinging them both across the room where they landed with a clank as they shut off.</p><p>Before she could even begin to respond, she was lifted into the air.</p><p>He had quickly picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder, laughing all the while. Air left her chest as she countered his move and flipped them both, the two of them landing flat on the ground side by side, just as they had been before.</p><p>Mando was initially hesitant to let out all of his own hysterics, but the girl laughing freely beside him, loud and cackling uncontrollably, made him feel like being happy wasn’t too far-fetched. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I split it up into two parts because it was almost 13,000 words! Let me know if you find any errors! Feel free to leave me some feedback, guys! </p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. [8.5.4]</h2></a>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mando and her had silently agreed upon their stay on Lysaria being a short one, although it had seemed like a good idea to stay there forever, it wasn't a realistic dream.</p><p>They would only be happy for a while until the bounty hunters and the Empire and whoever else wanted to cash their lives in for a bounty arrived, and they would have to be on the run yet again.</p><p>It wasn't worth the trouble.</p><p>It was just better to already be running than to be caught off guard. That had been her philosophy for the past seven years.</p><p>Their communication was almost telepathic because as soon as Cerelia became quiet once again, wondering how she should approach the sudden need to overcome all of her fears at once. She hadn't told him what she was thinking, which at that moment was that she needed to visit some places on her own.</p><p>As if he had been inside her thoughts, as if he knew every doubt she had, as if he knew he needed to say what she was too afraid to say, Mando spoke up.</p><p>"Me and the kid are gonna head back to the room, just to pack up some things." he faltered, coming up with it as he spoke.</p><p>They virtually had nothing to pack up, so she saw through the excuse. She was grateful he had cared enough to come up with a reason to give her this time alone.</p><p>"If you need me.." Mando began, his words slow with the uncertainty of if he wanted to say them or not. "I'm a shout away."</p><p>She could hardly react, due to the shock of hearing that come out of his mouth. <em>The big softie, </em>she thought. <em>He does care.</em></p><p>"I'm serious." Mando reaffirmed.</p><p>Her lips tilted into a goofy smile as she looked up at the awkward Mandalorian across from her, staring down at her with an unreadable helmet covering his expression. If she had predicted correctly the way he was looking at her, she had a good reason to be smiling so big.</p><p>"I love you, too, Mando." she teased.</p><p>"You might wanna rethink mocking me, Little Jedi." Mando taunted, and she could feel her insides suddenly warm up at the nickname he occasionally referred to her as. "I did beat you, after all."</p><p>"If anything, I let you win." Cerelia insisted, a small gulp hidden behind her words. She tilted her chin up at him, modestly. She only wished she could see what he was thinking. She was one nickname away from jumping him, and not in the training kind of way.</p><p>She could hear a low, husky chuckle underneath his helmet. "Sure, you did."</p><p>As Mando left her on the walkway up to the Sanctuary, even if she had been the one to essentially tell him to leave her behind so she could handle this on her own, she couldn't help but wish that as he walked back toward the castle with the kid floating in his pod beside him, that he would turn back around and scoop her up in his steel-covered arms and carry her far from her fears.</p><p>But as he walked back into through the closed corridor, out of her sight, she knew that she had no other choice but to face them.</p><p><em>You've been alone for a long time, </em>Cerelia reminded herself. <em>You managed just fine.</em></p><p>Of course, that wasn't true. She had spent every second of that time weighed down by loneliness. No matter how dependent she had become on having Mando and the kid around, there was no doubt that she was better off with them than without them.</p><p>They kept her grounded.</p><p>They reminded her that she wasn't alone anymore, and she didn't have to be alone ever again. They reminded her that she was wanted, that she was cherished, that she was <em>loved</em>.</p><p>After several minutes of standing still and talking herself out of getting all of her fears out of the way, Cerelia finally convinced herself it would be okay to take a step forward.</p><p><em>It's only a sidewalk, </em>she reasoned. <em>It can't hurt you. You're being a pollywog, Cerelia. Just walk!</em></p><p>The landing platform was close to being in sight of the Sanctuary. In a matter of footsteps, she had rounded a corner and saw exactly what she had dreaded. And it wasn't even the worst of her fears.</p><p>The statues—</p><p>No, not now. That would be for another time.</p><p>Now, her biggest hesitance was stepping onto a concrete platform. She did have a reason, however. It wasn't all rubbish. It was more than concrete, and it was more than a place for ships to land.</p><p>It was where the gunship had flown her away, the last time she had been on Lysaria.</p><p>Maggy had pushed her toward the gunship, directed her to get on it before going off to fight the battle that Cerelia should have joined. There was no logical reason they hadn't allowed her to help them fight. Not that she could have done anything spectacular or changed the outcome of the invasion, but she could have done <em>something</em>.</p><p>She had begged and screamed for Maggy and her mother as the tight grip of both soldiers and civilians wrapped around her biceps and wrists, pulling her back, away from the danger. They had shoved her onto the gunship, filled with those who could escape, and flown into space as quickly as it had lifted off of the platform. That was the last time she had seen Lysaria, before now.</p><p>It was haunted ground.</p><p>Elkin had died right in front of her, shot down by stormtroopers. If they had released their hold on her arms, she could have at least retrieved the lightsaber from her belt. She had no time to react, no time to process anything that had happened since the first explosion occurred and the Star Destroyer touched down close in the mountains.</p><p>She had fallen to her knees, and let out a dreadful wail of all of the recent pain she had endured.</p><p>It had only taken minutes for Lysaria to be beyond saving.</p><p>The tears had flown down her face, blurring her sight and making her eyes burn like fire as she cried out in pure uselessness. There was nothing she could do but watch as her home burned to the ground, as her favorite soldier lay dead on the sidewalk, her closest friend had sent her off to safety while her people died, and her mother had sat in the Sanctuary, awaiting the arrival of the Sith Lord who had made it quite known who he was coming for.</p><p>Cerelia's footsteps had gone on without her, and she found herself standing on the exact platform she had nightmares about. It was like she had snapped her fingers and traveled miles.</p><p>It had only been thirty feet, at most, but it felt like it was only inches away and halfway across the galaxy all at the same time. It was an eerie feeling once she realized where she was.</p><p>Her knees collapsed in on her, as they had before, and she let the tears go.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She wasn't tired, in terms of sleepiness, but sleep had overcome her anyway.</p><p>She didn't have Mando's strong, warm arms wrapped around her, after all.</p><p>Once one has known peace, even the simplest of dreams seem like chaos.</p><p>And the dreams welcomed themselves back into her sequence. As she was in all of the others, her mother arrived shortly after her eyelids shut. She stood in a silver gown, one Cerelia had remembered her as wearing on the day of her death. Her mother was expecting diplomatic guests, if she remembered correctly. But then again, that wasn't one of the details she found herself remembering most from that day.</p><p>She set her frostbit palm upon Cerelia's shoulder, and spoke softly as she had done before.</p><p>"<b>You would never have been able to save me from him.</b>"</p><p>"<em>I could have! You never gave me the chance." </em>she sobbed, reaching for her mother's hand and finding that her shoulder was bare and untouched. She wasn't here, after all.</p><p>She never had been.</p><p>"<em>I need you to understand, Ceri. Nothing would have changed, regardless of if you had been with me or halfway across the galaxy." </em>Mercilé attempted to console her daughter, but she knew her too well to think for a moment that she would let go of regret so easily.</p><p>Her daughter was stubborn, just like her.</p><p>With Obi-Wan as a father and her as a mother, she had no other way to be.</p><p>Cerelia paused her crying as tears clouded her eyesight as she asked, "<em>What do you mean</em>?<em> Why not</em>?"</p><p>She held her chilled face in her hands. It was so cold and so dark. And there was no light anymore. Not even her mother. She had realized that as soon as the glow began to fade slowly, and her mother along with it.</p><p><em>No!</em> Cerelia wanted to scream. <em>Even as a dream, even as a ghost, I'll take her. Don't leave. Please don't leave. Not again...</em></p><p>"<b>Because I told him the truth,</b>" Mercilé told her daughter, knowing well that Cerelia would not let the truth go untold.</p><p>"<em>What is the truth? What did you tell him?</em>" Cerelia asked, but Mercilé did not answer her. She only comforted her.</p><p>
  <em>"</em>
  <b>I will show you."</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, the black abyss surrounding her flashed with images she had never seen before. It was like watching a film, something that was rare in her childhood unless it included plans for training or secrets of the Rebellion.</p><p>They were images of the past. She could only get a glimpse of them as they were gone as soon as they had come.</p><p><b><em>A petite young woman with long, web-like curls and big, ocean blue eyes in an old temple in a busy city on a big planet, likely the capital. She had a double-bladed green lightsaber staff in her hands that was taller than her and nearly weighed her down, but it did not stop her from dueling the person in front of her with a grin on her face the entire time. </em></b>It was her mother when she was young, probably when she was a Padawan. The building must have been the old Jedi Temple.</p><p><b><em>A man with reddish-brown, choppy hair and a braid laid beside his ear wearing long, tan robes with a tall man standing beside him wearing much of the same attire in a forest. </em></b>It was her father and his Master, her great uncle, Qui-Gon Jinn. Her parents hadn't spoken much about him, but what little they had told her of him, she had remembered.</p><p><b><em>A young girl with black, wild hair and a mischievous smile on her face. The boy standing beside her had shaggy blond hair and dirt on his face. They were laughing at something on a planet of sand. </em></b>She couldn't place the names instantly, but she could only assume that the two children were her parents' future apprentices. Anakin Skywalker and Dahlil Starlight.</p><p>Cerelia's breath caught as she began to come to terms with what she was seeing.</p><p><b><em>The same man over and over. No. Clones. Hundreds of them. An army full. </em></b>These were the clones that had—</p><p>She sighed deeply in wonder as she prepared herself to watch the tragedy of the Jedi play out, one that her parents had to suffer through.</p><p><b><em>Her mother and father and that grown-up little boy and girl from the sandy planet, standing beside a clone with buzzed blond hair, seemingly going over battle plans in front of a hologram. </em></b>The Clone Wars. The final years before the Republic fell.</p><p><b><em>The now-grown-up blond-haired boy was standing with another dark-haired girl this time, clad in a lace-embroidered dress and exquisitely trimmed veil. They held one hand — one flesh and the other a cybernetic prosthetic — in the other's as they stood in front of a man with a book in his hands and two droids. They were being married. In the not-far distance, the girl with black hair watched from a balcony in a pretty blue dress she seemed uncomfortable in. Her face remained in the same stiff expression as she observed the ceremony below. </em></b>But the image was close enough that Cerelia could see a tear roll down her cheek. It was Anakin Skywalker and his wife. Cerelia couldn't quite remember the woman's name, but she remembered she was a Queen or a Senator. The details had become so blurry after years of loneliness and a primary mission of survival.</p><p><b><em>One of the clones had a lengthy scar down one side of his face, and detailed tattoos riddled across the other half. His armor was seemingly the only one painted with dark violet Republic designs, the same violet the girl beside him wore outlined in her dark, tight outfit. His hair was a little longer than most of the other clones and he stood close to the black-haired girl, both of them with their arms crossed impatiently. </em></b>She recognized the girl as Dahlil this time. The girl looked exactly like one of the portraits her mother drew when she had the opportunity to relax. Her eyes were much harsher in reality than they were in the painting, more judgmental, more pained. She wasn't sure who the clone was, but she knew the two of them had to have been close.</p><p><b><em>A younger girl with slick, black hair and sweet black eyes walked confidently in the halls of the Jedi Temple. She was joking around with another girl around her age, an orange-skinned Togruta. Behind them, Anakin Skywalker and Dahlil shook their heads at their Padawans and smiled at one another. </em></b>That was Magna, when she was Dahlil's Padawan and the other girl must have been Ahsoka Tano.</p><p>
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    <em>Then Dahlil and Anakin, older and dirty and tired from years of endless battles. The girl was exiting a cruiser, wrapped up comfortably in a thick black cloak and dried tears in her weary eyes. The boy — no, the man — was walking toward the bay, standing on the landing platform, waiting for her arrival. It must have been a while since they had seen one another, since she dropped what little belongings she had on the stone below and whispered the name, "Anakin." with a tight sob in her voice, before rushing to the man in front of her. He lifted her high in his arms, and held her there, his hand holding the back of her head firmly and her arms wrapped over his shoulders, refusing to let go. She plastered kisses on Anakin's head and face, but never on his lips, before he set her feet down on the ground, but held her as close as she had held him. When they finally separated, there were grateful smiles painted on both of their expressions, and they had no care in the universe as to who was around them, watching their interaction. It was only the two of them, the only two people in the whole galaxy that mattered. Then a paler woman with a beauty mark on her cheek and brown hair a shade or two lighter than the girl's own approached behind him, awaiting a hug of her own from Dahlil, and the girl's smile faded quickly before forming again to embrace the woman. Her eyes flickered to the clueless man smiling at the both of them, and another hidden tear formed in her eyes but she wiped it away before the couple could see. She entered the Jedi Temple on Coruscant with a smile on her face and an ache in her heart.</em>
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</p><p>Cerelia had only a moment to feel for the girl, only a moment to process what she was seeing.</p><p>The tone shifted then, the images dimmer and the darkness growing around her.</p><p><b><em>Maggy and Ahsoka Tano stood in the throne room of an unfamiliar planet, their lightsabers aimed toward a Zabrak man with deep red skin and black markings with a red-eyed, blue-skinned woman at his side. Around them, windows shattered and blasterfire rang loudly. They glared as the man spoke. </em></b>Cerelia's mind couldn't wrap around this image of the past. She couldn't remember hearing much about this event, likely because her parents weren't there. Perhaps it was the Siege that Maggy talked about occasionally. The Siege of Mandalore.</p><p><b><em>Pain. Anguish. Hundreds of Jedi being slaughtered at once, by the army they had trusted the most. </em></b>Even now, nearly thirty years later, Cerelia could feel the fear and betrayal of the Jedi of the past. They whispered to her. They screamed.</p><p><b><em>Her father and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, the noble Jedi the galaxy had spoken of. They were dueling. Not playing around or training, they were trying to kill each other. Anakin's voice was laced with a deep hatred as he screamed at her father, his Master, "I hate you!" as he burned in the ashes of the lava river below him. </em></b>Her mind was boggled with the overload of information. Anakin Skywalker had been the Chosen One. He had died at the hands of Darth Vader, not her father. Everything she had been told was a lie.</p><p><b><em>Anakin Skywalker's wife lay on the birthing bed, wailing loudly in pain as the imminent sense of dread washed over her as death neared closer. The medical droid presented the first child to her, a boy, and she weakly whispered the name 'Luke'. Then another came, a girl, who she was barely able to name 'Leia' before Mercilé and Obi-Wan stepped forward, Luke in her father's arms and Leia in her mother's, to hear her last words as she spoke, "There's still good in him." </em></b>Him? Him being Anakin? Anakin had presumably died on the canal where he would succumb to his wounds. Perhaps they hadn't told his wife that, to give her hope to keep living, before she herself couldn't hold on any longer, and died before the both of them.</p><p><b><em>The helmeted man dressed in all black, donned in a long cloak, approached a graveyard on a planet of ice. He knelt down in front of an abandoned clone helmet painted in orange and white. In front of the helmet lay a lightsaber, which he brushed the snow off of before he ignited it. The blue kyber crystal glowed brightly in contrast with the bland white of the cold planet. He glanced up in the air as an owl let out a call and flew above him before he turned off the lightsaber, carrying it with him as he walked back to his ship. </em></b>She recognized the man from the brief glimpse she had gotten of his appearance as she flew from Lysaria on a gunship as he entered the Sanctuary where he slaughtered her mother. It was Darth Vader.</p><p><b><em>It was the throne room of Lysaria, where she had spent much of her time in her childhood. It was decorated in silk drapes and sunlight shone brightly through as she saw her mother and father holding heads across from one another at the altar. Her mother wore her golden crown on her head and she wore a beautiful dress of gold-colored material to match. Her belly was big and round, likely in the final months of her pregnancy. They both had relieved smiles on their faces, as if they had waited much of their lives for this moment. Their faces were red with blush and anticipation. </em></b>Cerelia could have cried. They were so happy.</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Then the Sanctuary. The cloaked Sith Lord stood in front of her mother, who was unarmed and unalarmed by the man's presence as she spoke, "I knew you would come soon enough. The element of surprise was quite lost after you blew up Alderaan, killed my husband, and have since terrorized the galaxy with your advanced new weaponry." The man only breathed loudly in response, an odd labored type of breathing that sounded pained. </em>
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</p><p><b><em>"I know what you've come for. And you may take my life, if that is what you wish. In fact, I've expected this for some time. And I know why. Because I'm the final reminder of what you used to be, Anakin." </em></b>Her final word was hesitant, but she spoke it nonetheless. Cerelia stood in her dream world, with no breath and no thoughts. Her entire memory had been shattered within a few minutes.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>No.</p><p>It couldn't be. But it was.</p><p>A puzzle piece she had never quite connected to the board.</p><p>Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader?</p><p>Her brain collapsed like it had been consumed by the highest waves of the widest ocean on the wildest ocean planet in the galaxy. It all seemed to piece together, the missing piece of the puzzle to the simplest and most complicated explanation in the galaxy.</p><p>This man that she had come to mourn, a man she had never known but only heard stories about. The great, tragic character of Anakin Skywalker, her father's apprentice, the Chosen One who had supposedly died in the Jedi Purge.</p><p>And he was the lead instrument in all of it. The guiding force in all tragedy/wrong that had ever befallen the galaxy.</p><p>She couldn't wrap her mind around it. The sweet little boy Ani, who her mother had spoken so fondly of. The apprentice Anakin, who her father had praised.</p><p>This man, who Dahlil had loved so deeply.</p><p>Maggy had never spoken his name at all, but she guessed that made sense now. She had never noticed it before.</p><p>She was blind to it all. She couldn't believe the revelation.</p><p>He was... <em>that</em> <b><em>monster</em></b>.</p><p>
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    <em>Her mother continued. "Well, go ahead. Kill me. But I want you to know that I'm not the only one left to remind you of what you've become. But you knew that already, deep down."</em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>"You knew Padmé was pregnant. Anyone who observed her funeral would be under the belief that she had never given birth, but I always knew you would have known better than that. It was never easy to fool you."</em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>"She had twins, Anakin." she watched as the man behind the mask stiffened, tension building up higher and higher and finally releasing all at once as he stumbled lightly, losing his balance at the shock of her words. Mercilé hung her head for a moment, then looked up at him again, a hidden tear forming in her bright eyes. "She gave them the names Luke and Leia."</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>His voice faltered, from his mask and the pain underneath, as he let out a whisper, a sharp contrast from his regular tone. "You kept them from me?"</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>Her mother didn't answer, only stared back at the man with unspoken tears finally filling her eyes. They weren't tears of fear or dread, but of regret. </em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>"We had to. You know that."</em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Darth Vader did not respond. She heard the sharp surge of electricity as he ignited the lightsaber shining a deep red at his side. </em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Mercilé wiped the loose tears from her cheeks and stood straight. "Do what you must, Anakin. I am ready to meet my end, knowing that I have done the best with what I had. I will be reunited with those I have lost... I will see my love again. Everything that you have done will matter no longer. My children will live on for me." </em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>"They have loved me for who I was, and that is enough for me." her mother spoke, her head high as she accepted her fate with not a frown or a tear in her eye.</em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>She spoke her final words, strong and haunting. Words that she was sure would stay with Vader until the end of his days, the last words he would hear before he met his own fate.</em>
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</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>"Can you say the same?"</em>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She found herself in front of the statue. It was, surprisingly, not carved in gold. That made her smile.</p><p>Her mother wouldn't have wanted it in gold.</p><p>If she could see it, if it had been in gold, she would have been flattered of course but secretly, to her family, she would have complained. Gold had been a color she had far too much of. Her entire life was surrounded by it, and she could have gone the rest of her life with never seeing it again and been just fine.</p><p>Cerelia was sure that if her mother could have scraped the gold off of the walls of the castle, she would have thrown it into the galaxy and let it float away.</p><p>"<em>Your father and I originally wanted to find a cottage somewhere, maybe in the Outer Rim, and live there. But Nadi was coming so soon, and the Outer Rim is dangerous if you can't find where you're going. We thought about coming home and moving up into the mountains, but the silver hair gave it away pretty quick.</em>" her mother had told them once on story night. She was trying to remain modest, but her mother was proud of what she had done, and the people she had led. <em>"And when the villagers heard what had happened to my father, they crowned me their ruler. And by then, how could I say no?"</em></p><p>The memory had brought a smile to her face, and her blotchy red cheeks brightened up with the thought of how happy they once had been.</p><p>The statue was in a silver metal of some sort, and she could make out in the carvings that it mirrored her mother as if she was looking at a picture of her. The curl of her hair, the pattern of her crown, the dimples of her smile.</p><p>It was as beautiful as she had been.</p><p>'Here Lies the Last Ruler of Lysaria and Our Queen, Mercilé Lyra-Kenobi. Lived 49 BBY - 2 ABY.' it read.</p><p>Although she hadn't been there to see it built and carved into the ground, she assumed that it was made by the remaining villagers who returned back home after the Empire was "defeated" after the Battle of Endor.</p><p>It was ironic.</p><p>Cerelia recalled her mother had said so many times before, "I'm not their Queen or their Ruler. They are a free people, able to do as they please. I would want my people to ask me to lead them because they want me to, not because my ancestors have done it in the past. <em>I want my people to choose me</em>.'</p><p>And they had.</p><p>Beside it sat the thin tombstone carved into the ground, the empty grave of her father.</p><p>She knelt down between the stones.</p><p>Her tears covered the silver tiles like a flowing waterfall. She had cried enough in the past day than she had allowed herself to show in the past seven years. One day, she'll run out of tears. One day, there will be no more tears left to cry. No more reasons to cry.</p><p>Then she saw her mother again. She had felt her, as she always did, but differently. It didn't feel like a dream any longer.</p><p>It felt real.</p><p>The image of her was as clear as any raindrop she had come across, as the brightest crystal in the mountains of Lysaria.</p><p>It was as if not a moment had passed since she was young. She could picture herself, a young Padawan smiling up at her parents who were reminiscing on the same experiences they had gone through long ago.</p><p>They had lost people, too.</p><p>And they had persisted.</p><p>"I've missed you." she breathed out, with glistening eyes full of a mixture of sadness and fulfillment.</p><p>"Not half as much as we missed you, darling." her mother greeted with a clear, sweet smile and crystal tears welt up in her eyes.</p><p>Cerelia could hardly believe her eyes. She had been plagued by dreams for weeks now, years really, but it had never felt quite like this.</p><p>"It was quick, Cerelia. Painless. I was gone before the lightsaber even struck my skin. And I'm here now. Safe. Untouched. With your father."</p><p>"He's there? He's happy?" she sniffled, looking up at her mother with crystal tears in her eyes.</p><p>"Of course, he is. He is right beside me. As he always was."</p><p>She couldn't help but ask, with the moment having been the only opportunity she could speak to her father after he had gone to never return. She would never truly get over him. Even more so than her mother. Her regrets were endless, but her father haunted her more than anything. "Why did he leave?"</p><p>"He had to, Ceri. You know that." her mother responded, reaching out to lay her hand on her shoulder once again. "Deep down, you do. Even if you can't admit it."</p><p>When Cerelia reached up to touch her mother's hand atop her shoulder, she found solid flesh. Perhaps it was a memory, perhaps it was a hallucination, but it sent such a relief to her soul, that she cried out in solace.</p><p>"Don't cry, darling. Mourning is not always sorrow. Your own grief does not have to be defined by anyone but you."</p><p>"But, mama-"</p><p>"Darling," her mother stopped her. "I would never want you to weep over me. I lived. I had a good life, one that I want so badly for you to have. I raised you three. I had your father with me through it all. There isn't a single choice that I regret. And I don't want you to regret anything for me." When Cerelia remained silent, her mother continued. But not before she pulled Cerelia up to her feet gently, and wrapped her arms around her. The girl let out a breath that alleviated any sorrow that had ever weighed upon her. "Where there is peace, there is freedom. You can regret every thing that ever happened to you for the rest of your life, but you will never truly live."</p><p>"You could have stopped him. I could have come back. I could have-"</p><p>"No," she said, hugging Cerelia even tighter, holding her silver hair in her hand as she pulled her close. "It was meant to be this way."</p><p>"Surely, you don't mean you were meant to die! I had just lost father, Nadi and Win had gone. I was alone!" Cerelia let go of her hold and stumbled back, away from her mother. No tears left her eyes, as they had since dried up. The sorrow was gone, and the regret had been lifted from her only to shift the blame to someone else. "I needed you here!"</p><p>She could have done <em>something</em>.</p><p>"You never lost me, Ceri." Mercilé spoke, attempting to reason with her daughter. She blinked before stepping closer to her daughter, who only stepped back. She sighed before relaxing her stance. "I am with you, always. Every burst of wind, every surge of the Force within you. That is me, and your father, and your grandfather, and your uncle. We are there. You just have to feel us."</p><p>"I- I can't." Cerelia stuttered, the tear-ducts underneath her eyelids threatening to spill sudden waterfalls. Her throat burned as if it had been scorched by the same ashes that had fallen upon her kingdom. The truth was all she had left. "I don't know how. You never taught me how-"</p><p>"I didn't teach you how to breathe, did I? Everything you needed to learn, you already know. The trials are merely to show you what was already there."</p><p>Cerelia looked down at the ground at her feet, and her throat tightened.</p><p>Her mother sighed again. "Your father and I went through many hardships. We weren't always happy, and it wasn't always easy. But we worked it out, and it lasted."</p><p>Cerelia looked away, averting her gaze to the side as she sucked in a breath threatening to shakily leave her mouth. Her lungs were filling fast, and she wasn't sure anything was real anymore.</p><p>Especially not the woman in front of her.</p><p>"There are things you don't know. Things I cannot tell you, for they are not my secrets to share. But you must know that you are exactly where you are for a reason, and that it will all make sense soon enough." Mercilé spoke softly again, stepping forward with her arm extended to reach out to her daughter again.</p><p>"Just tell me!" Cerelia wanted to scream.</p><p>The image began to fade again. She heard someone else's voice intruding. Reality was coming back to frighten her back into hiding. She wasn't sure who to trust, or even if she could trust her own thoughts.</p><p>"I'm here, darling," Mercilé spoke, her voice fading away as the silver of her gown turned to dust and her skin became gray. As if she was retreating back into the statue. "I'm always here."</p><p>"No," Cerelia whispered. "You're not." It was a sorrowful truth, but the truth nonetheless and the image of her mother seemed to fade slightly at the disillusion. "Not really."</p><p>This was a dream. It was only a dream.</p><p>It had to be.</p><p>"Out of all the missions we had and all the battles we won and all the things we did, my biggest accomplishment, my greatest milestone, the best thing that ever happened to me, was being your mother. Don't forget that." her mother cried, along with her suddenly. "One day, you will understand that everything I did and every choice I made was to keep you safe."</p><p>Cerelia regretted suddenly that she had ever wasted any time doubting her mother.</p><p>Even if she had been dreaming, it was better than never seeing her again.</p><p>A ghost was better than a statue.</p><p>Cerelia wasted no time rushing to gather her mother in her arms, squeezing her tightly in a hug like no other. She had missed her beyond anything.</p><p>Her embrace was like nothing bad had ever befallen her. No time had passed, and no one had ever left her.</p><p>"I'm sorry." she wanted to say, but her throat was too sore to speak.</p><p>"That's what I want you to know, more than anything. You were so loved, more than you could even imagine." Mercilé whispered into her ear, squeezing her even tighter.</p><p>"Your children will be your entire life. But I'm sure you've learned that already." her mother smiled at her, knowingly. There was no doubt in her heart, certainly no doubt in her mind. The kid was hers, whether they were blood or not. Hell, they weren't even the same species and he was technically twice as old as her, but he was hers.</p><p>Hers, and Mando's.</p><p>Then she could see it. She could see the bright light finding its way to her sight, the green of the forest welcoming her back, the green of the kid she loved so dearly, the gray-silver steel of Beskar armor that she could never go without seeing ever again.</p><p>"They're waiting for you." Mercilé smiled, kissing her daughter on the cheek, warming the dried tears on her face. "He's there to pull you back."</p><p>"But..." Cerelia hesitated. "I don't want to leave you. Not again."</p><p>"You won't be." Mercilé assured.</p><p>The girl pulled back away, as if she had been glued to her mother's arms. It was, no doubt, the hardest thing she had ever done. Nothing in the past seven years could ever compare. No real experience could compare.</p><p>"Be brave, Ceri." her mother said, her voice flowing in the air like a brisk wind as she walked toward the light, away from the palace she had spent most of her life in. "Don't look back."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>♦</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mando had pulled her back.</p><p>And it had put things into perspective for her.</p><p>She had done everything she needed to do on Lysaria, she had overcome all of her fears. She had visited every landmark that had haunted her for the past seven years. Other than as a refresher for the memories she never intended to forget, there was no other reason for her to stay.</p><p>Lysaria wasn't her home anymore.</p><p>It was her past.</p><p>And it was time to leave the past behind, and move on with the present.</p><p>They made their way back to the Razor Crest. She didn't look back for a moment, in fear of making a desperate attempt to stay there. But she knew, deep down, in the pit of her stomach, that she had to leave and never come back.</p><p>Leave it behind for good. She would never truly heal if she left that wound open.</p><p>She knew that.</p><p>She had known that for years, but it was easier to hide behind the sorrow of all the atrocities that had occurred to her than to come to terms with the fact that it was only her who was left miserable. The galaxy had moved on, and it would leave her behind if she remained wallowing in her sadness.</p><p>"I stole something when we went back to your room," Mando told her, in his same unsure tone, but this time it seemed a bit more excited, as if he was anticipating her response to what he had stolen.</p><p>She stared back at him in curiosity as she boarded the ship and closed the hangar bay door, sealing them inside for good.</p><p>"What did you steal?" she questioned with an uneasy laugh.</p><p>Mando stood in front of one of the hidden compartments of the Crest, and he was standing so uneasily that she was moments from asking him again what he had done. What was he so excited about?</p><p>"I know you've been having trouble sleeping," he spoke, and then he turned to press the control of the compartment and the door slid open automatically.</p><p>She nearly melted at the sight of it.</p><p>He had taken the silk sheets off of her bed and the fluffed pillows that decorated the bedframe, and used them to decorate their sleeping compartment. It was full of her silk-lined sheets and pillows and thick, warm blankets with a net up top for Little Bit to sleep in.</p><p>"Do you like it?" Mando's voice faltered toward the end of his question, and she rushed forward immediately to wrap around his cold Beskar-covered frame. Her head rested comfortably on his chest as she hugged him tightly and his arms wrapped over her in return.</p><p>"I love it," she assured with a smile so wide it made her face ache. Her cheeks burned red as she refused to let go. She eventually pulled back to look up at him. "Truly."</p><p>And even though she can't see his face, he is smiling in glee underneath, rivaling her own expression.</p><p>She understood now why it was so easy to leave Lysaria.</p><p>It was because she had found an alternative.</p><p>
  <em>She had found a new home. </em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: Let me know how you liked it!! I love hearing you guys' feedback! It makes my day!!</p><p>Did anyone notice the parallel I did between Cerelia/Mercilé and Anakin/Shmi? *cries* Anyways, as always, thanks for reading!! &lt;333</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. just a heads up!</h2></a>
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    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Hi, guys! Long time, no see!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I’m going to be doing slight editing/revising and maybe some minor plot changes but nothing too crazy!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Also, there should be a new chapter up soon!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>&lt;333 — Brooklyn</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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